Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi is witnessing a stupendous growth in the number of devotees visiting the much reverred shrine dedicated to Lord Shiv.
The temple logged a jump of almost 50 percent in the devotee count during the first five months (Jan-May) of the current calendar year compared to the corresponding period last year.
The surge is attributed to the ease of ‘darshan’ and enhanced facilities at the temple complex under the current Yogi Adityanath dispensation in Uttar Pradesh.
This is feeding into the religious tourism growth in the Kashi region, according to a UP government official.
Apart from an uptick in the number of devotees, the temple management also clocked a 33 percent rise in income.
Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust CEO Vishwa Bhushan Mishra said during Jan-May 2023, a total of 1,93,32,791 devotees visited the temple, whereas during the same period in 2024, a total of 2,86,57,473 devotees visited, an increase of 9,324,682 devotees.
On December 13, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the renovated Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham. Since then, more than 164 million devotees have visited the temple.