On 30th December 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh for the inauguration and launch of various initiatives and events as follows:
- PM laid the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 15,700 crore in Ayodhya.
- Inaugurated redeveloped Ayodhya railway station, flags off two Amrit Bharat and six Vande Bharat trains.
- Inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport.
- Ram idol carved by sculptor Arun Yogiraj selected for Ayodhya’s Ram temple.
PM Laid the Foundation Stone of Development Projects Worth Over Rs 15,700 Crore in Ayodhya and other parts of Uttar Pradesh
The Prime Minster dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 15,700 crore at Ayodhya Dham. These include
i.Rs 11,100 crores for the development of Ayodhya and its surrounding area Which includes
- Development of Greenfield township in Ayodhya for more than Rs.2180 crore and Vashishtha Kunj Residential scheme at a cost of about Rs 300 crore.
- Beautification of 4 historical entrance gates in Ayodhya and tourist facilities from Naya Ghat to Laxman Ghat.
- New concrete ghats between Guptar Ghat and Rajghat and rehabilitation of pre-built ghats.
- Construction of a visitor gallery for Deepotsav and other fairs at Ram Ki Paidi.
- Strengthening and renovation of the pilgrim path from Ram Ki Paidi to Raj Ghat and Raj Ghat to Ram Temple.
- Foundation stone of National Highway (NH)-28 (new NH-27) Lucknow-Ayodhya section and strengthening and modification of NH-28 (new NH-27) existing Ayodhya bypass.
- Establishment of the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) center in Ayodhya, and construction work of Municipal Corporation Ayodhya and Ayodhya Development Authority office.
ii.Project worth Rs 4600 crore related to other projects across Uttar Pradesh which includes
- The four-lane widening of Gosain Ki Bazar Bypass-Varanasi (Ghaghra Bridge-Varanasi) (NH-233)
- Strengthening and upgradation of the Khutar to Lakhimpur section of NH-730
- Capacity increase of LPG plant in Trishundi of Amethi district
- Sewage Treatment Plant of 30 MLD in Pankha and 130 MLD in Jajmau, Kanpur
- interception and diversion of drains and sewage treatment work in Unnao district
- Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) for Tannery Cluster at Jajmau in Kanpur
PM Inaugurated Redeveloped Ayodhya Railway Station, Flags off Two Amrit Bharat and Six Vande Bharat Trains
i.Phase l of the redeveloped Ayodhya Railway (Known as Ayodhya Dham Junction Railway Station) is developed at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore.
- Three-storey modern railway station building with modern infrastructure..
- The station is ‘Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) certified green station building’.
ii.PM Flagged off two new categories of superfast passenger trains in the country – the Amrit Bharat Express with Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) push-pull technology and locos at both ends for better acceleration. The trains run from:
- Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal
- Malda Town-Sir M. Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru, Karnataka)
iii.The Prime Minister also flagged off six new Vande Bharat Trains. These include
- Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi
- Amritsar-Delhi
- Coimbatore-Bangalore Cantt
- Mangalore-Madgaon
- Jalna-Mumbai
- Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal
iv.He also inaugurated three railway projects worth Rs 2300 crore. This includes
- Rooma Chakeri-Chanderi third-line project
- Jaunpur-Tulsi Nagar, Akbarpur-Ayodhya, Sohawal-Patranga and Safdarganj-Rasauli sections of the Jaunpur-Ayodhya-Barabanki doubling project
- Doubling and electrification project of the Malhaur-Daliganj railway section.
PM Inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport
The prime Minister also inaugurated the newly built Ayodhya Airport which has been named Maharishi Valmiki International Airport. Phase 1 of the state-of-the-art airport at a cost of more than Rs 1450 crore. The features of the airport are:
- The airport terminal building will be in an area of 6500 Sqm
- It can serve about 10 lakh passengers annually
- The Front of the terminal Building depicts the temple architecture of the upcoming Shri Ram Mandir.
- The terminal building of Ayodhya Airport is also equipped with various sustainability features to meet GRIHA – 5-star ratings.
Note: GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment), the national green building rating system of India, is the product of the collaboration of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Being the country’s own green building grading system, GRIHA analyses a building’s resource consumption, waste generation, and overall environmental impact.
Ram Idol Carved by Sculptor Arun Yogiraj Selected for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple
The 51 -inch tall idol of Lord Ram Lalla for ‘Pran Pratishtha (consecration)’ was finalized by the temple trust in Ayodhya, the idol was carved by Karnataka’s renowned sculpture Artist Arun Yogiraj. PM will attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple on January 22, 2024.
Some of the works of Arun Yogiraj:
- The statue of Subhash Chandra Bose, which is displayed behind the Amar Jawan Jyoti near India Gate
- Adi Shankaracharya statue in Kedarnath
- B R Ambedkar statue in Mysuru
- Marble stone statue of Mysore Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar
- Hanuman statue in mysuru’s Chunchanakatte
- White marble stone statue of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Mysuru
- Monolithic statue of Nandi in Karnataka
- Banashankari Devi statue in various temples of India.
Note –
The mandir (temple) is built in the traditional Nagara style of architecture.
Additional-
The PM visited the home of Mera Manjhi, the 10th crore beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ayodhya.
About Uttar Pradesh(UP):
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Governor– Anandiben Patel
Bird Sanctuary– Parwati Arga Bird Sanctuary; Lakh-Bahosi Bird Sanctuary
Festival– Janmashtami; Taj Mahotsava
