LUCKNOW: You can now enjoy a boat ride along the ghats in Varanasi, take pictures using your smartphone and post them online right then, courtesy free WiFi. Until now famous as a spiritual hotspot for tourists, seers and saints, Dashashwamedh and Shitla ghats in the holy city of Varanasi, which is also the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi , would become the first public places in the state to become WiFi hotspots from February 8 onwards.

Government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited's WiFi zone at the two adjoining ghats would be launched by Union minister of communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad at 11 am on Sunday. This would be first public place in the state to have WiFi zone, confirmed cales and marketing head, BSNL, UP, AK Kannaujia.

This is the first phase for giving free WiFi zones in Varanasi, he said, adding that six more ghats in Varanasi would have WiFi Zone in the next phase. The deadline fixed by BSNL is March 2015, Kannaujia said. He added that the six ghats include Rajendra Prasad, Manmandir, Tripti Bhairwi, Meer, Lalita and Marikarnika ghats.

The WiFi Zone facility enables the smartphone users and laptop owners to get internet access without local area network.

Several private establishments like schools, colleges and hotels have been using this facility for their clients. However, this would be first time that WiFi Zone would be available free of cost to common public.

Since ghats in Varanasi have been attracting huge number of tourists both from the country and abroad, the facility would be useful for such visitors who carry smartphones, Kannaujia said.

Interestingly, both Dashaswamedh and Shitla ghats are almost with a common entry, a BJP leader told TOI and added that the ghat in front of Shitla Devi temple on the right of Dashashwamedh Ghat is the Shitla Ghat. The Union minister, before launching the WiFi Zone at the two ghats, would also offer prayers at Lord Vishwanath Temple, a few metres before the entry for Dashashwamedh Ghat begins.