Yogi plans to set up Ayodhya tourism development board

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is planning to set up an 'Ayodhya Teerth Vikas Parishad' to ensure all round development of the holy city.

According to official sources, the Ayodhya Teerth Vikas Parishad will have five members and the Chief Minister will be the ex-officio head of the Parishad, which will work to change the face of Ayodhya in the next two years.

The proposal for this will soon be put up before the state cabinet for clearance.

"The idea behind this is to set up a body that will work on Ayodhya in a focused manner. The state government has already set aside Rs 250 crore for the development of Ayodhya. The Chief Minister wants that the development of the holy city to take place simultaneously with the temple construction and both will be ready within the next two years," said a senior official.

The proposed Parishad will oversee development of infrastructure in Ayodhya and make it tourist friendly by the time the temple comes up.

Yogi Adityanath, since he assumed power in March 2017, has been taking keen personal interest in the development of Ayodhya.

He started the tradition of holding a 'Deepotsav' on a grand scale during Diwali and has already earmarked a sum of Rs 447.46 crore for a Lord Ram statue, a digital museum, an interpretation centre, a library, a food plaza, parking, landscaping and other associated tourist facilities.

This project is being modelled on the Sardar Patel statue project in Gujarat. The Patel statue stands at 183-feet while the Lord Ram statue will be 251 metres tall, making it the tallest statue in the world.