Varanasi: Amid three building owners obtaining stay order from high court against demolition under the ongoing Dalmandi road widening project, PWD razed 13 other buildings and removed debris simultaneously, on Sunday. Monitoring the demolition work amidst tight security arrangements, PWD executive engineer K K Singh and ACP (Dashaswamedh) Atul Anjan Tripathi said that demolition work was intensified under drone camera surveillance and 13 buildings, including eight that were acquired by PWD recently and five that had received notice from Varanasi Municipal Corporation, went under bulldozers and earth mover machines.The total number of buildings razed under the drive has now reached close to 150. A total of 187 buildings are demarcated for demolition for the Rs 224-crore project to convert the 650 meter Dalmandi road into a 17.4 metre-wide road following removal of 187 buildings.A widened Dalmandi will improve access to Kashi Vishwanath Dham’s gate-4 from the Naisadak point on the Lahurabir-Godowlia road by shifting load of commuters from other roads, especially Maidagin-Godowlia route leading to the shrine area.After the HC order on on Saturday brought relief to owners of three buildings and directions for authorities to maintain status quo till next order, all eyes are on the agencies executing the project, but the drive continued at an accelerated pace.
