VARANASI, Sept. 18 -- A festive atmosphere was palpable in Varanasi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 75th birthday was celebrated in his parliamentary constituency on Wednesday with the launch of development projects, Vedic rituals, a special 'dugdhabhishek' (milk offering) to the Ganga, prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple, distribution of pieces of a 75-kg laddu and the inauguration of a cleanliness drive. Varanasi mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari marked the occasion by launching 650 projects worth Rs 130 crore, laying the foundation stone for 575 projects and inaugurating 75 . The mayor also flagged off 10 garbage collection vehicles for the model wards.While the mayor cut a laddu cake and distributed its pieces among the people, public representatives and senior administrative officials cleaned roads and parks.Sweets were distributed among the people in the city and a sand artist carved out an image of Modi on the Jal Kal complex premises in Bhelupur here.At the Dashashwamedh Ghat, BJP's Varanasi South MLA Neelkanth Tiwari, along with 108 Vedic scholars, performed the milk offering, chanting mantras to pray for PM Modi's long life and the nation's prosperity Ganga activist Rajesh Shukla and a team of volunteers cleaned the Samne Ghat. A 75-meter-long chunari was symbolically offered to the Ganga for the PM's long life. The chunari was later distributed among women. Shukla is also the Namami Gange Kashi region coordinator and Municipal Corporation's cleanliness brand ambassador. He appealed to people to ensure that no one litters the banks of the river."We performed aarti and milk abhishek of Mother Ganga and sought blessings for PM Modi," he said. As part of the Seva Pakhwada that began on Wednesday and will continue till October 2, a special cleanliness drive was conducted in all wards of Varanasi city area from 7am to 9am. Wielding a broom, minister of state for registration, stamp and court fee Ravindra Jaiswal cleaned the Dr Ambedkar Square near the kachehri and the statue of Sardar Patel at Maldahiya. He then garlanded the statues of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.Mayor Ashok Kumar Tiwari and the BJP's city unit president Pradeep Agrahari cleaned the Sardar Patel Square in Maldahiya and then garlanded the statue of Sardar Patel. Varanasi South MLA Neelkanth Tiwari swept the area outside the Swami Narayan Temple in the Prahlad Ghat ward, exhorting people to maintain cleanliness, and planted trees under the "Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam" campaign. BJP MLC Dharmendra Rai carried out a cleanliness drive in Nadesar and garlanded the statue of Swami Vivekananda. After boarding a boat, Kashi region BJP president Dilip Patel and Cantt MLA Saurabh Srivastava cleaned the area around the statue of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya at the Banaras Hindu University gate and garlanded the statue. The party's regional media in-charge Navratan Rathi cleaned the Assi Ghat while co-media in-charge Santosh Solapurkar cleaned the Bindumadhav ward.Divisional commissioner S Rajalingam and district magistrate Satyendra Kumar took part in the cleanliness drive in Vindhyavasini Nagar Colony DIG Colony respectively.Municipal commissioner Akshat Verma also participated in the cleanliness drive. The divisional commissioner stated that cleanliness is not merely a government programme but a social movement driven by public participation. He directed all municipal corporations and local bodies to launch special campaigns at the ward level. This campaign will include special cleanliness drives at bus stands, railway stations, schools and colleges, Ramlila venues, and public places. Meanwhile, in Jayapur, the first village adopted by PM Modi under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana in 2014, residents celebrated by garlanding his portrait and cutting a cake at the panchayat bhawan....