Aerial view of 'Rudraksh', Shiv linga-styled Centre in Varanasi

Varanasi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated a state-of-the-art centre that he believes will make Varanasi an attractive destination for conferences and pull in tourists. He also shared aerial view of the building on his official Facebook account.

The building has been named Rudraksh, an international cooperation and convention centre. It will provide a glimpse of the cultural richness of the ancient city.

It has been reported that a total of 108 Rudraksha have been installed in the building and its roof resembles to a shape of Shiv Linga. 

"Now that Kashi is being adorned with so many development projects in the last 7 years, how could this adornment be completed without Rudraksha? Now that Kashi has worn this Rudraksh, the development of Kashi will shine more, and the beauty of Kashi will increase more," said PM Modi during the inauguration ceremony.

"There's one more person whom I can't forget to mention today. Another friend of mine from Japan - Shinzo Abe. When he came to Kashi as Prime Minister, I had a discussion with him on the idea of Rudraksh. He immediately instructed his officials to work on this project," the Prime Minister added.

Located at the posh Sigra area on 2.87 hectares of land, the two-storey structure has a seating capacity of 1,200 people.