The ancient idol of Mata Annapurna was brought back home from Canada after 100 years.
Highlights
- The iconic idol was stolen from India a century ago.
- It was brought back from Canada recently.
- The idol has been installed in a newly-constructed temple in Kashi.
An idol of goddess Annapurna brought back from Canada after 108 years was installed at the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi on Monday in a ceremony attended by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Idols of five other deities removed during the reconstruction of the temple were also installed.
The idol of the goddess was taken to the temple in a silver palanquin, shouldered by Adityanath. The procession started from the Kushmanda temple in Durgakund in the morning. It was installed in the north-east corner of the temple amid chanting of hymns.
The Chief Minister had arrived here on a two-day visit on Sunday night. He inspected the cleaning and repair of the Shahi drain on the Lahurabir-Maidagin road late in the night and ordered to complete the work on a war footing.
Adityanath also took stock of the construction of the Kashi Vishwanath temple corridor after paying obeisance at the temple.
The mega procession had started from Delhi on November 11, following a grand ceremony to hand over the ancient idol to Uttar Pradesh government representatives.
This idol was stolen from Kashi and smuggled to Canada a century ago.
