Uttar Pradesh

• 18 Oct 2024

PM to Inaugurate Sports Facilities in Varanasi

Why in News?

Recently, Prime Minister Modi is set to inaugurate new sports facilities in Varanasi, enhancing opportunities for athletes.

Key Points

• PM Modi will inaugurate phases 2 and 3 of the National Center of Excellence at Dr. Sampurnanand Stadium, Varanasi.
  • The upgrade cost Rs 325.65 crore, enhancing infrastructure for over 20 sports disciplines.
  • The complex includes multi-level courts, swimming pools, athletic tracks, and spaces for indoor/outdoor sports, para-sports, and recovery zones.
  • PM Modi will also launch development projects worth over Rs 1,000 crore

Varanasi

• Varanasi is in southeastern Uttar Pradesh state. It is located on the left bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River and is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism.
• It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its early history is that of the first Aryan settlement in the middle Ganges valley.
• Varanasi was the capital of the kingdom of Kashi during the time of the Buddha (6th century BCE), who gave his first sermon nearby at Sarnath.
• The city remained a centre of religious, educational, and artistic activities as attested by the celebrated Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited it in about 635 CE.
• Varanasi subsequently declined during three centuries of Muslim occupation, beginning in 1194.
• Varanasi became an independent kingdom in the 18^th century, and under subsequent British rule it remained a commercial and religious centre.
• In 1910, the British made Varanasi a new Indian state, with Ramnagar (on the opposite bank) as headquarters but with no jurisdiction over the city of Varanasi.