Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Wednesday that the rare idol of Maa Annapurna that went missing from Kashi 100 years ago during the British era, is finally being returned from Canada to its home in Varanasi.
The idol will be installed in Varanasi.
“100 years ago, an idol of Maa Annapurna went missing from Kashi and ended up at a university in Canada. The government of India has received that idol from the university and it is now being given to the state government. It will be placed in Kashi Vishwanath temple November 15 amid chanting of Vedic hymns,” the chief minister announced at a press conference.
Highlighting the efforts made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to retrieve and bring home the idol of the Goddess, Yogi Adityanath said, “It is an occasion for joy and spiritual satisfaction. This statue will be transferred to the state government in a ceremony to be held in Delhi November 11 which will be followed by its journey in a grand procession from Delhi. It will reach Varanasi on November 14.”
On the auspicious occasion of ‘Devotthan Ekadashi’ on November 15, a grand ceremony will be held at Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham and the statue will be installed after the appropriate rituals, he added.
Union minister for culture and tourism G. Kishan Reddy, who was also present, said that since 2014, 42 rare idols and antiquities have been returned to the country during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Reddy said that after PM Modi’s recent visit to America, the path has been cleared for the return of 157 more rare antiquities which will be brought to India soon.
IANS