PM Modi to launch projects worth Rs 487 crore on August 5 in Ayodhya

The Prime Minister is visiting the temple town to lay the foundation of the Lord Ram temple

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to visit Ayodhya on August 5 to lay the foundation of Lord Ram temple, will also launch development, tourism and infrastructure projects totalling Rs 487 crore during his brief visit to the temple town.

While projects worth more than Rs 161 crore would be inaugurated by the PM, others worth nearly Rs 326 crore would witness their foundation-laying in Ayodhya.

According to the Uttar Pradesh government, the projects proposed to be inaugurated next month pertain to the health, tourism and transport departments. They include civil and development works in the local government hospital costing Rs 135 crore, apart from the beautification of Laxman Qila Ghat at a cost of over Rs 10 crore.

The projects lined up for foundation laying pertain to the urban development, culture, tourism and public works department (PWD) departments. It includes widening of the highway connecting Bahraich, Ayodhya and Azamgarh with the project cost pegged at about Rs 252 crore.

On July 17, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had held a video conference with senior officials in Ayodhya and underlined the priority accorded by the state government to the various projects in the temple town in view of the proposed laying of the Lord Ram temple.

Last week, the UP Bullion Association had donated silver bricks weighing more than 33 kg to the Temple Trust for laying as foundation for the much awaited temple. The Trust was constituted on the directions of the Supreme Court for facilitating the construction of the temple.

Earlier, Temple Trust president and prominent seer Mahant Nritya Gopal Das had observed that the temple would be constructed with funds and voluntary contributions from the general public.

According to the tentative programme, a silver slab weighing nearly 40 kg will be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the proposed Lord Ram temple during the foundation laying ceremony by the PM. The religious rituals would be presided over by the priests from Varanasi. The foundation of the temple is scheduled to be laid around 12.13 pm, considered as the auspicious time based on astronomical calculations by the Hindu priests and seers.

The temple project will span about 85,000 sq ft, according to the new design prepared by chief architect Sompura brothers, which will rank it among the largest Hindu temples in the world. It will have a capacity to accommodate 50,000 devotees at a time. It is expected to boost the tourism potential of the temple town and contribute to its socioeconomic development.

With temple construction in offing, the blueprint of the state government to position Ayodhya as one of the major religious tourist attractions in India, joining the league of state peers viz. Varanasi and Mathura, is expected to gain further traction.