Goddess Annapurna idol stolen century back retrieved from Canada, to be installed at Kashi Vishwanath temple

A rare idol of Goddess Annapurna, stolen from Varanasi about 100 years ago and retrieved from Canada recently, will be installed at Kashi Vishwanath Temple on November 15.

The central government will hand over the idol to the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday at an event in Delhi. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will consecrate the idol at Kashi Vishwanath Temple on November 15.

The idol is 17 cm in height, 9 cm in breadth and 4 cm in thickness.

According to Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, 42 rare heritage artefacts have been returned to the country since 2014 during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Whereas between 1976 and 2013, only 13 rare statues and paintings could be brought to India.

At present, 157 sculptures and paintings have been identified abroad. Discussions are going on with several countries to bring them back to India. Efforts are on to bring idols from Singapore, Australia, Switzerland and Belgium. Efforts are also being made to bring about 100 idols from America.

( With inputs from ANI )

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