Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Sarnath on Monday to watch a light and sound show at an archaeological excavation site before leaving Varanasi. This will come shortly after the Prime Minister attended the Dev Deepawali Mahotsav at Rajghat in his parliamentary constituency.
In his address, PM Modi addressed a range of issues like connectivity via Varanasi-Prayagraj National highway, farmers’ protest and return of ancient idol of the Goddess Annapurna from Canada. “On the occasion of Dev Deepawali, I pay my tributes to all those who have laid their lives for the nation. The nation is giving a befitting reply to the expansionist forces, to those trying to infiltrate into India or those trying to break India from India,” he also said.
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{{/usCountry}}Also read: India giving befitting reply to anti-national forces, PM Modi says in Varanasi
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, PM Modi inaugurated a project to add six lanes of the 73-km Varanasi-Prayagraj National Highway during his visit to his Lok Sabha constituency. He also visited the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir and inspected the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor project.
Ahead of the PM’s visit, the stairs of the ghats were decorated with flowers and a red carpet, while artists created rangolis and painted pots. As per the officials, arrangements were made up to light 1.1 earthen lamps on the banks of the river.
The 30-minute show held every evening between 6.30 and 7pm portrays the journey of transformation of Prince Siddhartha into Lord Buddha. The archaeological museum and excavation site in Sarnath have been closed to the public and tourists till Monday in view of PM Modi’s visit to the excavation site.
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Sarnath superintending archaeologist Neeraj Sinha said that the entry of tourists and commoners to the archaeological excavation site and the archaeological museum has been prohibited from Saturday till November 30 on the instructions of the district administration.
Security has been tightened across Sarnath with the deployment of police personnel at the site, a senior police official said. The Special Protection Group (SPG) also inspected the site and reviewed security arrangements, he added. Security teams equipped with metal detectors have been instructed to regularly patrol the site. The dog squad has also been deployed, a senior security official said.
Sarnath is a holy Buddhist site where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon to five pupils.