Varanasi, Oct. 15 -- Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that Kashi had undergone a significant transformation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the city as having a "new aura" while retaining its cultural heritage.

Addressing the Swachhata Mitra Samman ceremony in Varanasi, CM Yogi recalled the conditions in the city before 2014, citing heaps of filth, stray cattle, narrow lanes, inadequate electricity and traffic congestion.

"All of you can see that Kashi has changed. The transformation of the eternal Kashi has taken place under the guidance and leadership of Prime Minister Modi. The Kashi with its narrow lanes, where before 2014 one could see heaps of filth, where stray cattle ...