As preparations remain in full swing for the grand opening of the ‘Mahakal Lok’, the 900-metre-long corridor in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, touted as one of the longest of its kind in India, will be thrown open by PM Narendra Modi on October 11.
Modi is set to visit Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday to unveil the first phase of the Rs 856-crore Mahakaleshwar Temple corridor development project in Ujjain.
The Mahakal Lok will surround the old Rudrasagar Lake, which has been revived as part of the redevelopment project around the ancient Mahakaleshwar Temple.
The Mahakaleshwar Temple is one of the 12 ‘jyotirlings’ in the country which gets devotees throughout the year.
Here comes nine features that make up the Mahakal Lok corridor look grand, mesmerising and magnificent:
- The temple has two majestic gateways — Nandi Dwar and Pinaki Dwar which have been separated by a short distance. They have been erected near the starting point of the corridor, which winds its way to the entrance of the ancient Mahakaleshwar Temple.
- Sandstones sourced from Bansi Paharpur area in Rajasthan are used for building structures of the corridor. Artists and craftsmen from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Orissa worked on chiselling and embellishing raw stones into aesthetic pillars and panel.
- Fountains and a running panel depict stories from Shiv Puran adorning the corridor.
- The corridor has 108 pillars with ornamental elements on top bearing trishul-style design dot at regular intervals.
- The use of ancient temple architecture evokes the ancient glory of the historic city of Ujjain.
- Rudrasagar Lake, the ancient reservoir in the city, has been given fresh life as part of the redevelopment project.
- Open sewer lines have been covered and connected to a sewage treatment plant. A solid waste garbage screening mechanism has also been installed near the lake.
- The Mahakal Lok development comes with a mid-way zone, a park, a multi-storied parking lot for cars and buses, florists and other shops, solar lighting, a facility centre for pilgrims, a water pipeline and sewer line, among other works. A light and sound system has been developed, and there is a plan to have a musical fountain show using the Rudrasagar Lake as a backdrop.