UP: PMO goofs up complaint over temple repair with 16-month-old grievance

Abhishek Sharma, Convener of Swagat Kashi Foundation looking after the temple management said that the temple continues to be in bad shape, but they recently received a reply from the PM's office saying that their grievance had been “solved” leaving them perplexed and disappointed at the same time.

Varanasi: Management at the ancient Ratneshwar Mahadev temple in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi has been left disappointed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office goofed up its recent complaint with a 16-month-old grievance. Abhishek Sharma, Convener of Swagat Kashi Foundation looking after the temple management told ETV Bharat that they had written a letter in July to the PM's office to demand a repair of the Ratneshwar Mahadev temple which is currently in a dilapidated condition.

While the temple continues to be in bad shape, Sharma said that they recently received a reply from the PM's office saying that their grievance had been “solved” leaving them perplexed and disappointed at the same time. Sharma said that they came to realize that the reply from the PM office referred to the complaint over the installation of streetlights in Chota Nagpur Vatika in Assi, made 16 months ago.

The management still awaits a reply to their complaint regarding the repair of the temple. Pertinently, Narendra Modi had last year tweeted about the 450-year-old Ratneshwar Mahadev temple, also known as Kashi Karvat. It is believed to have been built by Ratnabai, the maid of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. The temple remains submerged in water for 10 months and its sanctum sanctorum comes out of the water only for 2 months leading to a tilt of up to about 9 degrees.