Kashi Vishwanath Dham Case Study: Corridor Plan, Stone and Ghat Link (HCP Design)

Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham, widely searched as the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, is the redeveloped precinct around the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, designed by HCP Design, Planning and Management of Ahmedabad and opened in its first phase on 13 December 2021. It links the temple of 1780 to the River Ganga through a gateway, a path of public buildings, an outer court and a stone court around the temple. Below: the brief, site, plan, section, Chunar stone and construction, the temples found during clearance, how the precinct changed, and lessons, with MOA diagrams. We stick to design and construction.

Kashi Vishwanath corridor architect and the brief

HCP's project page says the firm was appointed in 2018 "to propose a comprehensive redevelopment plan" covering the temple and its precinct down to three ghats. In an interview with Ullekh NP, first published in Open in December 2021, Bimal Patel said the proposal was awarded in late 2018, when the purchase of properties for the corridor had already begun. By June 2019, NBMCW reported, HCP had submitted the detailed project report to the board.

The brief, as the client and architect describe it:

• Access from the river. The PMO's release of 12 December 2021 describes an accessible pathway from the temple to the banks of the Ganga, replacing congested streets.
• Room for crowds and services. HCP names access, security, queuing and public amenities as the problems; dense, low-rise building had "engulfed" the temple, in its words.
• Facilities for visitors. The 2019 list in NBMCW included a temple chowk, a city gallery, a museum, a multipurpose auditorium, a facilitation centre, a salvation home, a bhogshala and shelter for priests and sevadars.
• A new vocabulary. Patel told Ullekh NP that the project needed "a new architectural vocabulary" that would give the temple a fitting setting and still merge with the city around it.

Site and context: a temple hemmed in

The Kashi Vishwanath temple in its present form was built in 1780 by Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, according to the Kashi official web portal run by Varanasi Smart City; two of its three domes were covered in gold given by Maharaja Ranjeet Singh in 1839. The Government of Uttar Pradesh took over the temple on 28 January 1983, and a trust manages it.

Before the project, The Week reported, only a few feet separated the inner sanctum from the boundary; the PMO put the earlier premises at about 3,000 sq ft. Between the temple and the river lay a dense quarter of houses, shops and lanes. The ground rises steeply from the river, as it does along the Varanasi ghats, and HCP says the new work "follows the existing levels and terrain of the site". For the materials ordinary buildings in this region use, see our guide to building materials in Lucknow and the UP plains.

Kashi Vishwanath corridor design: a processional route

Patel describes the design as a route with a sequence of thresholds; he called the walk "a slow unfolding of self-realisation" in his interview with Ullekh NP. The main ideas, from his interviews and HCP's page:

• Announce the temple from the river. "From the river, the temple's presence is announced by a gateway atop a pyramid of steps," Patel said. On site this river gateway is called the Ganga Dwar.
• One axis. The outer court, the Mandir Chowk, is centred on the axis of that gateway and leads towards the temple; the gateway to the Parisar, the court around the temple, sits on the same axis.
• Old forms, new buildings. The Chowk is "modern yet uses traditional arch-shaped torans", and its gateway draws on the gateway of Ramnagar Fort, Patel said. Other buildings are modern and functional and "match the bulk and height of the surrounding development".
• Show the spire late. Patel told The Week that the route includes a second gateway through which the temple's shikhar is seen, with an ambulatory of Mirzapur stone at the heart of the precinct.

Kashi Vishwanath corridor plan and zoning

Read from the river, the plan has five parts:

1. The ghats and Ganga Dwar. The precinct extends to the Lalita, Jalasen and Manikarnika ghats (HCP). The Week described visitors landing at the ghat between Manikarnika and Lalita, climbing the steps and passing through the gateway. Patel said the design protects the privacy of mourners at Manikarnika, the cremation ghat.
2. The main path. HCP says the path to the ghats is "lined with institutions such as the City Museum, the Varanasi Gallery and the Multipurpose Hall", with lockers, toilets, lodging and hospice care. The PMO counted 23 buildings in phase 1, including Yatri Suvidha Kendras, a tourist facilitation centre, a Vedic Kendra, a Mumukshu Bhavan, a bhogshala, a city museum, a viewing gallery and a food court. Open reported the Mumukshu Bhavan, a home for people who choose to spend their last days in Kashi, as having room for 50.
3. The Mandir Chowk. An outer court that ThePrint gave as about 40 m by 70 m, meant for sitting and gathering.
4. The Parisar gateway, on the axis.
5. The Mandir Parisar. "The temple is enclosed by an ornate colonnade forming a spacious Parisar," HCP writes. The temple stands inside it, unchanged.

On length and width, Open reported the corridor as 400 m from the ghats to the temple and 75 m wide; The Week also gave about 400 m. An earlier NBMCW report of January 2020 gave about 250 m. The real drawings belong to HCP, and its project page shows its own images.

Patel said the master plan was revised several times, for three reasons: temples found inside acquired houses, properties that became available as acquisition went on, and the chance to add a ghat and gateway on the river.

Section: following the ground from river to temple

No source we found publishes levels or heights, so our section shows the principle only. The route climbs from the water by a pyramid of steps to the Ganga Dwar, runs up the main path along the existing slope with low new buildings on either side, reaches the Chowk, and steps down to the Parisar gateway, as Patel describes. The PMO said ramps and escalators were provided for older and disabled visitors. ThePrint reported, in September 2021, a platform at Lalita Ghat built out about 30 m into the river, partly with demolition waste.

Kashi Vishwanath corridor materials: Chunar stone

The Parisar was "made entirely in Chunar stone from Mirzapur", the same stone used in the temple, Patel told Ullekh NP. Open quotes the board as saying the Parisar's colonnade and gateways were built from local Chunar stone "without any steel or concrete reinforcement", with traditional motifs. Open also lists red sandstone, Kota granite and Makrana marble among the materials. We found no published specification of stone sizes, joints or finishes. For how sandstone, Kota and marble compare in ordinary buildings, see our guide to natural stone for houses.

Kashi Vishwanath corridor construction

• Tender. PSP Projects bid ₹339 crore for the development and beautification work, against Shapoorji Pallonji, NBMCW reported on 3 January 2020.
• Access. Patel said the only ways to bring in material were "a narrow 40 feet road" or barges on the river, and that much of the demolition was done by hand because of the space.
• Labour and pace. Work stopped in the Covid lockdown and resumed with at least 1,200 workers (Open). In September 2021, ThePrint saw more than 1,200 workers in shifts round the clock, with plans to go to 1,800, against a November deadline.
• Phasing. Phase 1 opened on 13 December 2021. Open expected the ghat area about three months later, and the Divisional Commissioner told IANS in January 2022 that the Ganga Dwar would open by 15 February.

Temples found during clearance

As houses were bought and taken down, shrines built into them came to light. Counts differ by date and source:

• about 60 temples in acquired properties, some being restored with help from the ASI and BHU (ThePrint, September 2021)
• 78 temples found before and during construction, with 26 planned for conservation and 17 done (Open, December 2021)
• "more than 40 ancient temples" rediscovered and restored "while ensuring that there is no change in the original structure" (PMO, 12 December 2021)

Patel said the temples were restored with a conservation architect and folded into the design. Open reports that Shivani Mishra's team cleaned stone with jaggery, fenugreek and guggul rather than chemicals. Patel told The Week that in many acquired homes the shrines had been treated "callously", their spires used as props; idols from home temples that were demolished were to be shown in a gallery on the path.

Light, climate and services

The sources say little about climate design. The Week gave about 70 per cent of the five hectares as open space, and Open said over 70 per cent of the redeveloped area would be green, naming rudraksha, parijat, ashok and bael trees. Services mentioned are toilets (about 190 seats, The Week), lockers, more than 300 CCTV cameras and baggage scanners (Open), and HCP's "unobtrusive security arrangements". Patel said existing sewer lines and a pumping station at Lalita Ghat handle the precinct's waste, though that pumping station was to be relocated. Lighting design is not credited in any source we found.

Kashi Vishwanath before and after: reception and change

Scale and capacity. The PMO put the precinct at about 5 lakh sq ft, against about 3,000 sq ft before. Capacity figures vary: about 55,000 people at a time (The Week, 1 December 2021), 50,000 to 75,000 (the Prime Minister's speech, as The Week reported on 13 December 2021) and over 75,000 (Open).

Acquisition and rehabilitation. The PMO said more than 300 properties were bought by mutual negotiation, about 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners were rehabilitated, and no case was pending in any court. Open reported 314 buildings demolished, against an initial target of 197, which had housed at least 1,400 shops. ThePrint reported ₹380 crore for property and ₹70 crore for rehabilitation. The Week (1 December 2021) recorded complaints over the demolition of small temples, shop clearances and unequal compensation, and Divisional Commissioner Deepak Agarwal's statement that no case was before any court.

Cost. The PMO gave phase 1 as built at about ₹339 crore (12 December 2021). In September 2021 the Divisional Commissioner told ThePrint a revised cost of ₹400 crore had been sent to the government for approval.

Critics and researchers. Historian Michael S. Dodson, writing in Platform on 14 October 2019 during the clearance, described the displacement of residents, including a family of renters he says got no compensation. Vera Lazzaretti's 2021 paper in the International Journal of Heritage Studies studies how the project was framed as heritage. Prof. V. N. Mishra of IIT BHU told ThePrint that the project lacked a detailed study, including of its possible effect on the river. Patel answered critics in Open: "Much care is being taken to ensure that the additions here fit well with the surrounding area." He told The Week that respect for heritage "must not paralyse us" from change.

What designers in India can take from it today

Our reading, not the architects':

1. Plan for a site that reveals itself. Here the brief changed as houses came down and shrines appeared. On any dense urban or heritage site, budget time and fees for revising the master plan, and keep a conservation architect on the team from the start.
2. Treat logistics as a design input. One 40-foot road, barges and hand demolition shaped what could be built and how fast. Map the access before fixing the material and the structure.
3. Insert at the scale of the neighbours. New public buildings here keep the bulk and height of the old fabric while the open courts change the experience. That is a useful rule for any infill in an old town.
4. Use the stone of the place. Choosing the temple's own Chunar stone ties new work to old. Unreinforced stone, though, needs a structural engineer who knows masonry. Document your own site the way our case study field checklist sets out before you choose.

For another religious building where the route and the climate shape the plan, see our Lotus Temple case study.

Visiting Kashi Vishwanath Dham

The precinct is open to visitors and reached from the city side or from the river through the Ganga Dwar. The Kashi official web portal gives the address as Lahauri Tola, Varanasi 221001, lists the daily aartis, and links to online booking for Sugam Darshan. Check it for current timings and entry rules before you go.

FAQ

Who is the architect of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor?

HCP Design, Planning and Management of Ahmedabad, led by Bimal Patel, designed the precinct for the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board. Open reports PSP Projects as the contractor.

When was the Kashi Vishwanath corridor built and inaugurated?

HCP was appointed in 2018 and the foundation stone was laid on 8 March 2019. Phase 1 was inaugurated on 13 December 2021, and the river gateway was due to open by 15 February 2022. HCP lists the project as 2018 to 2022.

What is the area of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in acres?

HCP gives a site area of 48,000 sq m, about 11.9 acres by our conversion. The PMO gave about 5 lakh sq ft, about 11.5 acres. The Week said just over five hectares and InSite India gives 8.21 hectares, so figures depend on what each source counts.

Which material is the Kashi Vishwanath corridor made of?

Mainly Chunar stone from Mirzapur district, the stone of the temple itself. The board says the Parisar colonnade and gateways were built without steel or concrete reinforcement. Open also lists red sandstone, Kota granite and Makrana marble.

Which river and ghats does the corridor connect to?

It connects the temple to the River Ganga, with the precinct extending to the Lalita, Jalasen and Manikarnika ghats and a river gateway, the Ganga Dwar.

Planning a building in an old town? Find an architect on MOA.

Sources

• HCP Design, Planning and Management: Vishwanath Dham, Varanasi, project page (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Prime Minister's Office: PM to visit Varanasi and inaugurate Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham on 13 December, 12 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Open, Ullekh NP: Kashi Vishwanath Temple: The Grand Makeover, 17 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Ullekh NP: Interview: Bimal H Patel, architect, first published in Open, 17 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• The Week, Puja Awasthi: Exclusive: Kashi Vishwanath temple gets a grand new look, 5 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• The Week, Sneha Bhura: Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project is 'litigation-free', 1 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• The Week: report of the inauguration, 13 December 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• ThePrint, Neelam Pandey and Praveen Jain: Kashi Vishwanath makeover races to meet Nov deadline, 4 September 2021 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• NBMCW: UP floating tender for 750 cr Kashi corridor, 19 June 2019 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• NBMCW: PSP Projects is lowest bidder for Kashi Vishvanath corridor, 3 January 2020 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• IANS via OdishaTV: Ganga route to Kashi Vishwanath Dham to open from Feb 15, 31 January 2022 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• InSite India, Swara Popat: Corridor to Eternity, May 2025, excerpt (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Platform, Michael S. Dodson: Excavating the Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi, India, 14 October 2019 (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Vera Lazzaretti: New monuments for the new India: heritage-making in a 'timeless city', International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2021, open access record and abstract (accessed 11 Nov 2026)
• Varanasi Smart City, Kashi official web portal: Shri Kashi Vishwanath (accessed 11 Nov 2026)