With a little more than a year to go for the Ramlalla idol to be installed inside the Ram temple, a majority of infrastructure projects in Ayodhya have been launched. (Express photo by Lalmani Verma)The pink sandstones brought from Rajasthan are being cleaned; streets are being widened; a new outer ring road has been approved; an international airport is coming up, along with a revamped railway station; and a river cruise is being planned on the Sarayu.
With a little more than a year to go for the Ramlalla idol to be installed inside the Ram temple, a majority of the mega infrastructure projects in Ayodhya have been launched, officials said.
On Sunday, Chief Secretary Durga Shanker Mishra reviewed the progress of the proposed projects and inspected some of the sites. He directed the Divisional Commissioner, District Magistrate and Municipal Commissioner to regularly meet and examine the projects. According to the UP government, 252 projects are currently underway in Ayodhya.
Stones being carved for the Ram temple.(Express photo by Lalmani Verma) “It is expected that Ramlalla will be installed by December 2023. The ground floor of the temple is expected to be completed by that time. The number of devotees has already surged,” Anil Mishra, member, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said.
“Almost 40 per cent of the entire temple-related work has been completed,” Mishra said. The trust was set up by the Central Government to construct the temple at Ram Janmabhoomi.
According to officials, the town will sport an entirely new look “in the next three to four years” with an estimated footfall of upto 2 lakh on normal days and upto 5 lakh on “special days”. Currently, an average of around 50,000 devotees visit the makeshift Ram temple on a normal day.
Paths: There will three key pathways: Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Path (5.77 km) to connect Ram temple with Naya Ghat via Sugreev Qila; Bhakti Path (850 metres) to link the main road to the temple via Hanuman Garhi; Ram Path (12.9 km) to connect Saadatganj to Ramjanmbhoomi. Land acquisition and demolition of structures for the Bhakti Path is underway. At least five multi-level parking locations are being developed in different locations.
Roads & highways: To tackle rush on the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway, a 65-km outer ring road will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India as a greenfield project. Expected to cost Rs 2,500 crore, the four-lane ring road will pass through Ayodhya, Gonda and Basti.
The ring road is part of highway projects worth Rs 8,698 crore for which Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone this January. They include the 230-km, 84-Kosi Parikrama Marg passing through Ayodhya, Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki, Gonda and Basti districts — the Rs 4,000-crore project is expected to be completed by 2023-end.
International airport: In April, UP’s civil aviation department signed a lease agreement with Airports Authority of India (AAI) for transfer of 318 acres for the Maryada Purshottam Shri Ram International Airport near the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway. “It is a 821-acre project, of which 793 acres has been acquired and construction of the first phase has started,” said Nitish Kumar, District Magistrate, Ayodhya. Before the AAI started work, there was a 1,500-metre airstrip used for state planes and a flying club. Joint General Manager (Civil-EIC), AAI, and project in-charge Rajeev Kulshreshta said in the first phase, a 2,200-metre runway that costs Rs 100 crore will be developed.
Railway station: The Ayodhya Dham railway station is being expanded with three new platforms to be developed by December this year. Landscaping and the development of another railway track will be done in the second phase. The project is expected to cost Rs 200 crore.
Township: UP Housing and Development Board will develop a “Nav Ayodhya” township on 1,200-acre area where state guest houses will be built. Land will be auctioned for hotels while residential plots will also be provided after development of a road, sewage and drainage system.
River cruise: District Magistrate Kumar said that a double-storey solar-powered cruise boat will provide rides on a 9-km stretch from Naya Ghat to Guptar Ghat on the Sarayu river. Work on this project will commence next month, District Magistrate Kumar said.
Other projects: They include a degree college (Rs 245 crore), sewage system development (Rs 243 crore), water supply project (Rs 417 crore), power stations (Rs 180 crore) and underground cabling (Rs 179 crore). At least 181 lanes were identified for renovation by March 2023.