steel barriers in Gyanvapi removed to create a priest-access corridor

In Varanasi, amidst the double-layered steel barricades erected for security around the Gyanvapi mosque, a 7 feet by 7 feet incision was made late Wednesday to install a steel gate. This passage was created to allow priests entry into the southern cellar of the mosque. Divisional Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma clarified that these arrangements were executed in compliance with the district judge’s directives.

The cut for the passage is situated on the mosque side, directly facing the Nandi idol within the Kashi Vishwanath complex. Sharma explained, “The entrance to Gyanvapi’s southern cellar is positioned between two vertical pillars set up for barricading. Steel pipes securing them were cut to uniform height and width. Steel pipes were used to block the passage between the barricading and the mosque wall to prevent anyone from the mosque reaching the entry point. Subsequently, a two-flap door was affixed along with the steel barricading.”

After the demolition of the Babri mosque in 1992, the Gyanvapi mosque underwent fortification, initially with regular barricades, but later in the late ’90s, iron barricades were employed. The barricades stood at 25 feet on the northern and western sides and 15 feet on the southern and eastern sides. A proposal was made in 2009, as part of a security modernization plan, to increase the height of the iron barricading on the latter two sides.

Records indicate that Rs 35 lakh was allocated in 2010 to enhance the barricade height for the comprehensive fortification of the Gyanvapi mosque and the installation of additional equipment.

As the intensity of the Ram Janmabhoomi Ayodhya movement grew, the Kashi Vishwanath Gyanvapi complex was designated as a highly sensitive site. A standing committee, under the ADG (security), was established post-1992 to oversee security arrangements. After the terrorist attack in Varanasi in 2006, security for this complex was further heightened.

Presently, the complex is divided into two zones. The red zone (inner area) is under the control of CRPF, while civil police handle the responsibilities of screening visitors and managing the crowd. The security of the outer cordon is a collaborative effort between civil police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary.