Devotees queue up outside Gyanvapi complex to have glimpse of cellar after court order

Varanasi (UP): Devotees visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Temple here were on Friday passing through a narrow lane adjacent to the Gyanvapi mosque complex, trying to catch a glimpse of the cellar.

The Varanasi court ruled on Wednesday that a Hindu priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque.

Following the court’s order, devotees visiting the famous temple were seen passing through the narrow lane, between the boundaries of the mosque and the temple, and trying to catch a glimpse of the cellar from an opening through a barricade.

They were apparently able to see only parts of the cellar and paid obeisance from afar.

Kashi Vishwanath Temple’s Public Relation Officer (PRO) Piyush Tiwari said, “Devotees are excited to offer prayers at the cellar. As of now, on the direction of the district administration, we have made arrangements that they can have a Jhanki (moving) darshan." The Kashi Vishwanath temple officials along with the local administration are managing the devotees' lines.

As part of the arrangements, the devotees exiting the temple after offering prayers can see the cellar from the barricading at the boundary of the adjacent mosque complex.

Earlier, the area was covered with tin sheets, which were removed on Wednesday night by the district administration following the court's order.

On Friday, a group of police personnel standing near the barricading were seen managing the queue of devotees eager to have darshan of the cellar.

“On Thursday morning, the day after the court's judgement, the petitioners and some advocates of the Hindu side had darshan of the cellar. Now only the priests are allowed to go inside the cellar to offer prayers. Other devotees are having the darshan from the barricading," Tiwari said.

The district court on Wednesday ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in a cellar of the Gyanvapi Masjid here, a significant development in the legal battle over the mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

The prayers are being conducted at regular intervals by a "pujari" nominated by the Kashi Vishwanath temple trust and the petitioner who has claimed his grandfather offered puja at the cellar up to December 1993.