Earlier on Wednesday, the district court ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in a cellar of the Gyanvapi Masjid, a significant development in the legal battle over the mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple. 

 Pandey told PTI that at around 10.30 pm on Wednesday, "Vyas ji's cellar was opened after 31 years for prayers." 

 Asked if prayers were performed in the basement, he said, "Yes." "It was necessary to follow the court's orders, so the district administration made all the arrangements with great promptness," Pandey added. District Magistrate S Rajlingam said, "I have complied with the court's order." Some locals claimed that after cleaning the cellar, an 'aarti' of Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh was performed. 

 Official sources in the district administration said at around 9.30 pm on Wednesday, the members of the Kashi-Vishwanath Trust were called and the barricades before the Nandi statue facing the mosque's 'wazukhana' were removed. 

 The court had directed the local administration to make arrangements within seven days for prayers in the cellar. This will involve "proper arrangements" with metal barricades at the complex, it said. -- PTI