Sita’s birthplace misses PM’s Ramayana Circuit projects

PATNA: Sitamarhi, considered to be the birthplace of Goddess Sita, could not find a place in the projects under the Ramayana Circuit launched by PM Narendra Modi at Janakpur in Nepal on Friday.
According to sources, former President Pranab Mukherjee had announced asphalting of a ring road at Janakpur during his visit there in November 2016. Locals in Sitamarhi rued that the holy town could not be connected with the ring road though it is merely 60km from Janakpur.

“Janakpur was the kingdom of Sita’s father King Janak, but she herself is believed to have come out of the mother earth at Punaura Dham in Sitamarhi when King Janak was ploughing the land here during Treta Yug. Besides, the two temple towns are only 60km from each other. Thus, the two towns could have been provided ring road connectivity,” Sitamarhi-based social worker Abhay Prasad said.

PM Modi, while launching a Janakpur-Ayodhya-Janakpur bus service on Friday, said India and Nepal would work towards building the Ramayana Circuit between the two countries.

State tourism minister Pramod Kumar though said Sitamarhi is already included in the Ramayana Circuit of Government of India, but the bus service and other schemes launched by PM Modi were based on agreements between the two countries.

“The Janakpur-Ayodhya bus service is aimed at providing transportation facility to pilgrims between the birth places of Lord Rama and Sita,” the minister told TOI.

“There are two routes in Bihar identified for the movement of Lord Rama before and after his marriage with Goddess Sita. While the one they followed on their return from Janakpur to Ayodhya via Sitamarhi has been included in the Ramayana Circuit of ministry of tourism, the route taken by Lord Rama and Lakshman on way to Janakpur via Buxar before the marriage was recently turned down by the central government. We are, however, still pursuing for its inclusion in that circuit,” he said.

The Ramayana Circuit is among the 15 tourist circuits under the ‘Swadesh Darshan Scheme’ of ministry of tourism. Around 11 Indian religious sites spread over six states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu along with Janakpur to be linked with Nepal’s Ramayana Circuit. Those listed on the circuit are slated to have all the necessary facilities like drinking water, lodging and parking for tourists and pilgrims.

Work on ‘Ram-Janki Marg’ to start this fiscal: State road construction minister Nand Kishor Yadav said on Friday works on construction of around 130km-long 4- lane road from Mehrauna in Siwan district on UP border to Chakia in East Champaran district as part of ‘Ram-Janki Marg’ would commence this fiscal (2018-19). Government of India has resolved to construct roads to connect Ayodhya in UP with Janakpur in Nepal at a cost of Rs2,000 crore.

“While a two-lane NH-104 already exists from Madhuban in East Champaran to Sitamarhi on Nepal border, a bidding process for roping in a firm for construction of a new four-lane road from Mehrauna to Chakia is likely to be initiated in two months and works would start this fiscal itself. This will complete the entire length of 250km of Ram-Janki Marg in Bihar,” Yadav said.