Docu ‘exposes’ destruction in the name of development in PM’s constituency

Falah Faisal | NT

Bengaluru: Varanasi is a spiritual hotspot, drawing tourists from all over the world who come to see the Aarti by the Ganga River and get a taste of Indian culture. It’s a place many prefer to be cremated or retire to in their old age.

But in 2014, it became a battleground when Narendra Modi decided to contest from the constituency and won. He promised development, but the people there have seen little of it in the last eight years.

One of the development projects he announced was the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, which has seen the destruction of hundreds of houses and displaced people who have been living in the lanes for generations.

They are the focus of the documentary ‘Galiyon ka Shahar’ by Modak KS and Ragini Rao Munjuluri which offers a look at the implications of the recent development projects in Varanasi, UP, through the perspectives of the city’s residents.

A boatman who plies his trade on the river mourns, “There has been no development besides moving the poor away to make way for the rich.” Another points out that “Modi isn’t just destroying homes, but dividing families by offering people large sums of money for empty plots.

This isn’t vikas, it is vinaash.” One of the main victims of this is shop owner Anurag Kapoor, who has lots of stock in his building adjoining the temple. “So many little temples have been broken to make way for this pathway that it feels like Modi has done more damage to Varanasi than the Mughals,” he says.

Many living in the lanes have no papers or have no clue where the landlords are and can’t claim compensation because of it. One restaurateur who initially supported the move says, “We won’t be able to get a house close by for hundreds of kilometers since everything is so expensive.

That’s why I have bought a camera to take pictures so that my children will know where we came from.” The film has stellar cinematography that perfectly captures the sense of impending doom, where the hammering down of buildings is a constant.