Varanasi, Dec 25 (IANS): Sulabh International, a sanitation NGO, has taken over the maintenance and cleanliness of the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple here, officials said Thursday.

Sulabh founder Bindeshwar Pathak told IANS that it will ensure proper cleanliness of the Viswanath temple.

"Sulabh has already deployed 12 sanitation volunteers for maintenance of cleanliness at Kashi Vishwanath temple," he added.

The temple houses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas and attracts millions of Shiva devotees every year. But most of them return with sad images of dingy lanes dotted with littered garbage all around the temple premises.

"We will try and do our best to clean up the area and also to maintain it," Pathak said.

Sulabh has also been roped in to clean the Assi Ghat area off the Ganga river where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who also represents Varanasi constituency, began Swachh Bharat (Clean India) drive November 8.

Modi will be reviewing the work Thursday.

More than 20 stairs have now come up for use, which were buried under tonnes of silt at Assi Ghat.