LUCKNOW, INDIA, June 19, 2012 (twocircles.net): Varanasi’s famous Kashi Vishwanath temple will be given a major facelift and the salaries of the priests will be increased, the Uttar Pradesh government announced Tuesday. After a meeting of the temple trust, Religious Endowments Minister Anand Singh said that other than making provisions for booking online darshan of the Deity, fibre glass roofs will also be installed at places where devotees stand in long queues to have darshan of Lord Siva.
The management also approved a 35 percent hike in the salary of all priests employed by the shrine board. A new ‘prasad’ system will also be implemented soon, officials informed. For the long term development and beautification of the temple premises, a masterplan was being made and it would be approved soon, the minister said. To complete the pending projects in and around the temple, a budget of US$1.6 million has also been approved by the trust.