Up until a few years ago, no resident of Ayodhya would have even entertained the idea that placing Ayodhya on the international map as a spiritual capital for Hindus could be possible. Today, however, winds of change have gripped this historically significant city— home to the birthplace of Lord Rama.
The city of Ayodhya is going through an epic makeover— a facelift on all counts, with a brand new airport, a revamped railway station, new roads, bridges and highways, new hotels and restaurants and so on. The city is preparing for its long-awaited era of glory which it will be propelled into on January 22, 2024, when the idol of Lord Rama will finally be placed in the Bhavya Ram Mandir, currently under speedy construction.
Real estate prices have quadrupled in the city since the Supreme Court verdict in favour of a Ram Mandir on the disputed land. Construction activity is in flow in Ayodhya to cater to a footfall of millions of tourists from India and around the world. Traders and shops, big and small, are ready for a boom in business. Hotels are projecting 100 per cent occupancy rates in the months ahead. And the city is undergoing cleaning drives and beautification on top of this developmental frenzy. The administration foresees a football of 50,000 to 55,000 visitors flocking into the city daily.
To showcase this sea change in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the new airport, followed by the Ayodhya railway station renamed as the Ayodhya Dham Railway Station. Further, PM Modi will hold a 15-kilometre-long roadshow passing through NH-27, Dharam Path, Lata Mangeshkar Chowk, Ram Path, Tedhi Bazaar, Mohair intersection to Ayodhya Dham Railway station.
The most notable infrastructural boost for Ayodhya is the Ayodhya International Airport, named after Shri Rama, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on December 30, 2023. The Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram Airport has been under rapid construction which began in February 2022 and its first phase is ready for take-off, with flights to Delhi and Ahmedabad as the first connections to be established by January 10, 2024.
With an estimated cost of Rs 1,175 crore, the Ayodhya Airport is being constructed with the objective of placing Ayodhya on the global aviation landscape.
The newly constructed Ayodhya railway station, renamed now as the Ayodhya Dham Railway Station, is a grand undertaking for the city— clean, beautified and well-lit with improved seating and washroom facilities offering a pleasant experience to residents and visitors alike. This is a significant revamp from the conditions the Ayodhya station junction was previously in.
The first phase of the station has been fully completed. The station offers cutting-edge facilities which outperform general airport facilities on several counts concerning quality and convenience. It involves an infant care room and a sick room where medical attention is available for infants and passengers in the case of an illness or injury. It also has a tourist information centre, a fire exit and the country’s largest concourse.
Travellers are provided comprehensive details about spiritual and tourist destinations in the area including the grand Ram Temple. Further, the station includes cloakrooms, a food plaza, waiting lounges, staircases, escalators, lifts and toilets of impeccable quality. Moreover, most of the station is covered by air conditioners, which puts it on par with airport facilities and is a welcoming amenity for travellers during the summer.
The prime minister will also be flagging off the Amrit Bharat Express from Ayodhya, which operates on the innovative push-pull technology and also features the Kavach protection system which prevents collision between two trains. The train will link Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, and Sitamarhi, in Bihar, a city linked historically with Goddess Sita. The train boasts a potential speed of 130 kmph and is designed to cater to the poor including the migrant labour force currently hard at work in Ayodhya.
A cruise ride on the Saryu River in Ayodhya has also commenced months ahead of the inauguration of the Ram Mandir. The cruise will ferry devotees to the temple while engulfing them in a spiritual experience inspired by the Ramayana. The ‘Jatayu’ cruise runs between Nayaghat and Guptarghat from September 8. Another premium cruise service called ‘Pushpak’ is also in the works with a bigger vessel which will have a capacity of 150 passengers.
Millions of travellers are projected to flock to Ayodhya owing to the historic construction of the Ram Mandir for which devotees have been praying for decades. For this to happen, the administration recognised that enhanced connectivity is the foremost condition to aspire to. And hence began the construction spree— of roads, highways, bridges, railways and an airport.
Ayodhya’s Member of Parliament (MP) Lallu Singh announced during a June press conference, commemorating nine years of the Modi government, that a comprehensive transformation of the town and its surroundings into an international religious tourism destination is currently in progress. The ongoing initiatives, comprising infrastructure, redevelopment, and welfare projects, have a total value of Rs 57,136.21 crore. While there are diverse projects aimed at beautification and public amenities, a significant portion of the infrastructure projects is specifically focused on improving connectivity in Ayodhya.
Significant investments have been directed towards the railways and roadways sectors, with a considerable portion of the initiatives being undertaken by the Central government through the Indian Railways and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Indian Railways is engaged in both the enhancement of existing facilities and the creation of new infrastructure, involving an expenditure of approximately Rs 4,372 crore. This encompasses activities such as the doubling of rail tracks, the construction of six rail over bridges (ROBs), and electrification projects.
The Modi government at the Centre and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s administration in the state of Uttar Pradesh have delivered phenomenally, despite the Covid obstacle, to turn Ayodhya into a transformed global destination for religious and heritage tourism. The benefits of this facelift are bound to reshape Ayodhya’s economy and mark a significant juncture in the history of Uttar Pradesh, which has unleashed its economic potential of late.
Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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