Over 30 per cent of the population goes without piped water in the temple city

Around 1.4 lakh litres of drinking water was used on Wednesday night to wash the roads of Varanasi where over 30 per cent of the population goes without piped water. A day later, Prime Minister and aspiring candidate Narendra Modi hit the city to a rousing welcome and led a spectacular road show.

An official said: “We had instructions to wash the roads for the Prime Minister.”

As many as 40 water tankers of the Varanasi Municipal Corporation and 400 labourers were deployed for the task, a source said. Usually, roads are washed only during festivals.