The area to be increased from 2.82 hectares to 20.23 hectares by August 2023. Divided into two phases, the renovation work is expected to complete by 2028.
After the grand renovation of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Varanasi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has rolled out plan for a grand renovation of the Mahakaleshwar Dham in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the renovated Kashi Vishwanath Dham on December 13.
The renovation work at the Mahakaleshwar Dham is divided into two phases, with the first phase expected to be complete by August 2023 and the second and final phase by 2028.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government of Madhya Pradesh had released 500 crore rupees in January this year for the renovation of the Dham.
The iconic Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain was demolished by multiple invaders of the Mughal era, including tyrant Aurangzeb before finally being resurrected by the Maratha ruler Ranoji Scindia.
Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar said, “This will be a historic event in our 1,000-year history. Ujjain’s Mahakal temple was demolished by several Muslim invaders but was ultimately resurrected in 1730s by Maratha ruler Ranoji Scindia and his Diwan Ramchandra Baba who revived all the temples of Ujjain. We owe them a lot.”
The temple premises, which is about 2.82 hectares, will be increased to 20.23 hectares.
Mahakal Vikas Yojana, as it is called, is a part of a project to develop Ujjain into a smart city and project Mahakaleshwar Dham as a high-tech pilgrimage site.
The Mahakaleshwar Dham would be developed to include a 900-metres long corridor, which will be filled with scores of installations, theme park, heritage mall, E-transport facilities, and would also connect the water from the Shipra river to Rudra Sagar lake through pipe-work.
In the first part of the renovation work, the area near the Char Dham Mandir, Nutan school complex, Ganesh school complex, 900-metres long corridor, theme park, Rudra Sagar Ghat, Food court, watchtower, mural walls would be completed. As a part of the redevelopment project, about 200 houses in Begum Bagh will be demolished and transformed into multi-storey buildings.
In the second phase of the renovation work, the Maharajwada school Bhavan would be transformed into a heritage Dharamshala. The second and final phase would also include the linking of Rudra Sagar and Shipra river, beautification of the front lake area, construction of a multi-level parking with capacity of about 500 cars and the development of a 210-meter suspension bridge over Rudra Sagar.
The renovation of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, which falls under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency, was a litigation-free exercise. The houses in the complex were demolished and the heritage structures were preserved.
In the Mahakaleshwar Dham project too, the surrounding buildings will be demolished and the owners would be adequately compensated.
Mahakaleshwar is one of the 12 holy Jyotirlingas and the city is also one of seven Sapta Puris, holy sites in the Hindu religion which bless the pilgrims with Moksha.
The original Jyotirlinga at Mahakaleshwar was demolished by the Muslim invaders in 1235. The temple was demolished many times thereafter by different Muslim invaders, including tyrant Aurangzeb. The present-day structure was raised by Maratha ruler Ranoji Scindia.
