Yogi Adityanath names ‘Sanskritik Sankul’ after Girija Devi

Lucknow: UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday announced that the ‘Sanskritik Sankul’ at Chowkaghat in Varanasi would be named after legendary Thumri singer Girija Devi, who passed away on Tuesday night.

The 88-year-old classical singer and Padma Vibhushan awardee had passed away at a hospital in Kolkata following a cardiac arrest.

The chief minister expressed his condolences on the demise of Girija Devi and said the singer had helped in elevating the profile of Thumri during her lifetime.

Girija Devi, the doyen of Banaras Gharana, was born in Varanasi’s Nati Imli area on May 8, 1929.

The chief minister, who was on a visit to Varanasi on Wednesday, also launched several development projects in the city including up-gradation and modernization of state-run primary schools. He declared the Kashi Vidyapeeth block as open defecation free area.

Yogi Adityanath also distributed loan waiver certificates to farmers during a function at the Sanskritik Sankul.