He wasn't exaggerating when he called it "dirty work". Solid waste, liquid waste, paan stains, silt and garbage from households are as conspicuous in Varanasi as its temples and ghats that lead to the banks of the river Ganga.
Cleaning up and beautifying India's spiritual capital was one of Modi's biggest electoral promises to the people of Varanasi. A year later, it doesn't appear to be an empty one.
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"Look how Assi Ghat (the southernmost of the 84 ghats of Varanasi which is known to accommodate over 20,000 people during festivals like Shivratri) looks today — as clean as a new one. Modi is here and changes are visible. There may be some delay in work but transformation of Varanasi looks inevitable," says Praveen Kumar, an employee of Banaras Mercantile Bank, whose T-shirt with Mai Narendra Damodardas Modi emblazoned all over doesn't exactly leave you wondering about his political leanings.
Varanasi's Assi Ghat. (Getty Images photo)
There are those like Deepak Madhok who runs the Sunbeam chain of schools in the city who will tell you that the cleaning of Assi Ghat began before Modi chose Varanasi as his constituency. "Our school kids were working on the cleanliness of the ghats on a war footing since September while Modi came in December," avers Madhok. "When our boys and girls were doing the work on Assi Ghat, not a single BJP man visited the place and the moment Modi entered Banaras, throngs of them came in overnight and flew away with all the credit."
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Assi Ghat in the evening. (Photo taken from Twitter)
When your MP is also the PM, it's inevitable that the buzz factor hits a crescendo, along with expectations. "Earlier, dharnas and even minor scuffles between smaller political outfits were a regular feature, but now almost all political activity is limited to the PM and his talks," says Kaushal Kishor Mishra, professor of political science at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). "There is a demand from certain circles that Varanasi should be made a union territory so that it can be under the direct control of the Centre. Expectations are really high." He's hopeful, and points to Assi Ghat as the basis for that hope. "A big part of the (Assi) Ghat that was till now buried under silt has re-emerged. There's hope that there will be changes in Varanasi — something that most of us had never imagined till the PM entered Varanasi," adds the professor. "Work is on in full swing," pipes in an enthusiastic state BJP spokesperson Ashok Pande. And no prizes for guessing his frame of reference — "Visit the Assi Ghat and see for yourself," he says pointing southwards.
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Meanwhile Pranjal Yadav, Varanasi's district magistrate, has been moving in tandem by initiating a cleanup of another kind — encroachments from congested roads. Rubbishing claims that there is friction between the Centre and the state for funds or projects, he says the roles of the two are well defined. "Land has been acquired for the ring road that will help decongest the city. Work will start this month and the project should be ready by April 2017; all the hanging wires of the city will be covered underground under the Integrated Power Development Scheme; streetlights will have LEDs; and the capacity of liquid waste management will be increased."
City mayor Ram Gopal Mohale, too, is full of beans. "Everything will change in three years. Varanasi will transform into the most beautiful city in the world," he gushes.
Photo of a cleaner Assi Ghat, Varanasi.
The hope over Varanasi would have been unthinkable a year ago. Local civic authorities had almost given up on this city of 15 lakh people with a population density of 2,400 persons per square km — till the point Modi entered Varanasi.
Scepticism of course can be found in generous doses, and from predictable quarters. "Third-grade material is being used for all the construction work. Besides, most of the work is the initiative of the state government and the Nagar Nigam. Where is Modi's contribution in all this," asks Congress' Ajai Rai who had contested the elections against Modi in 2014 and is a five-time MLA. Remind Rai about the regular visits by ministers from Delhi, such as the one last week by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, and he offers a different perspective.
"The people who are coming here on courtesy calls have no sync with the culture of Varanasi," says Rai. "Forget that, Jaitley said on his visit that the local officer-bearers must spend time here. Does it take a Cabinet minister to remind a local office-bearer to do his duties, address public grievances and be in his constituency?" he asks. "Where were the office-bearers in the last 10-11 months? It is a sign that nothing will happen. The new Modi office [in Ravindrapuri, also called mini-PMO] has become a post office. Just that the letters are never delivered to the PM," he adds.
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Modi's apparent proactivity has had an unintended ruboff effect, which Radhika Ranjan Tiwari, a priest at the Vishwanath temple, spells out: "There's a chain reaction. After the PM came to Varanasi, the CM [Akhilesh Yadav] too has become more active." The healthy competition it seems is working well for the wellbeing of this ancient city. "Many of the projects that were stalled since ages got approved recently."
View of Assi Ghat. (Photo taken from Twitter)
BP Singh, a professor of statistics at BHU, explains Modi's catalytic effect. " On his own, he may not have achieved much as of now but his entry in Varanasi has galvanised many NGOs, global organisations and individuals to participate for the uplift of the city."
Alok Kumar Rai, professor at Faculty of Management Studies, BHU, says certainly there's hope — and not hype — that things will change in the city. "As yet nothing tangible is visible on the ground except for some improvement of train schedules. But it is too early. Rome was not built in a day. Varanasi too must wait."
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