Blessed temples: Crores and more

* Rs 1,800 crore

On March 28, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, inaugurated a revamped Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy in the Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district – about 70 km away from Hyderabad. The total cost of the project is estimated to be Rs 1,800 crore.

* Rs 800 crore

The Puri Heritage Corridor Project was unveiled in December 2019 to transform the holy town of Puri into an international heritage site by redeveloping major portions of the town as well as areas in the vicinity of the temple. The first phase of the work was estimated to cost Rs 800 crore. Following this, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) approved the architectural design plan of the project at an estimated cost of Rs 3,200 crore.

The project landed into a controversy this May when questions were raised about construction within 100 metres of the temple’s premises, in violation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act. In June, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions filed against the redevelopment project.

* Rs 800 crore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, involving the revamp and renovation of the temple premises including a route to the Ganga, in Varanasi on December 13 last year. The project’s estimated cost is said to be Rs 800 crore.

* Rs 500 crore

The estimated cost of the Virat Ramayan Mandir in the Kaithwalia area of the East Champaran district in Bihar which is under construction at the moment. At 215 feet, it is said to be bigger than the Angkor Wat. The total construction cost is estimated to be around Rs 500 crore. Work on it began in February this year.

* Rs 797 crore

The Akshardham temple in Hollywood near Los Angeles, inaugurated in January 2013, was built at an estimated cost of $100 million. It was reportedly built with 35,000 pieces of hand-carved marble and sandstone.

* Rs 300 crore

In March 2014, then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated a project for building a 70-storey temple, said to be the tallest shrine in the world, called Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir. Estimated to cost Rs 300 crore at the time of its inauguration, it is being helmed by ISKCON foundation.

* Rs 33 crore

In June 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a $ 4.2 million redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Lord Sri Krishna temple in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.