To boost tourism in Ayodhya, Cabinet okays bus station and airport road expansion projects

State Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Sidhartha Nath Singh told reporters, “The Ram temple is being constructed in Ayodhya, and it is an issue of belief. As preparations are being done for the construction of the grand temple of Ram, the focus is especially on transportation facilities.”

Singh said about nine acres of land available with the Department of Culture would be transferred free of cost to the Department of Transport to construct the bus station. It might be built on a public-private partnership model at Ayodhya Dham, near the “Sanskriti Manch” that is under construction at present.

“The construction of this project will facilitate pilgrims and tourists. The bus station will connect people coming from different places, including different parts of the state, and provide better connectivity to other parts of the state such as Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ballia, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Kanpur etc,” he added.

The Cabinet also relaxed norms to expand about 1.5 km of the road connecting the town to the proposed international airport. It will be a four-lane road that will be able to sustain traffic of a minimum of 18,000 passenger cars. The norm was relaxed to clear the way for the expansion as the traffic on the road at present is not much. The project will cost Rs 20 crore and the land required was available with the education department. The Cabinet had decided to provide it to the Department of Public Works for free, said Singh.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a proposal to set up Development Authorities in places such as Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, Agra, and Varanasi to speedily improve their tourism infrastructure facilities. The Cabinet also approved the construction of a 120-MLD sewage treatment plant at the Ghaziudeen Haider Canal in Lucknow to “help clean river Gomti”, said Singh. It is estimated to cost Rs 297.38 crore, and will be built as part of the Centre’s AMRUT scheme. While the Central government will pay Rs 88 crore of the estimated cost, the state’s share will be about Rs 129 crore. The local civic body will spend about Rs 79 crore.

The Cabinet also cleared projects worth Rs 284 for Prayagraj, including the construction of a railway overbridge-cum-flyover to ease traffic congestion. The four-lane overbridge will be built near the Subedarganj railway station, while another two-lane flyover will be constructed on the road leading from Chaifkata to Kanpur.