Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a 2-day tour to his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi. Among other programmes, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Swarved Mahamandir in the holy city. The temple is dedicated to Swarved, a Hindu Spritual Scripture authored by Sadguru Shri Sadafal Deoji Maharaj, the founder of Vihangam Yoga.
Speaking about the confluence of divinity and development, PM Modi said that it is around India’s spiritual structure that India’s craft and art touched unimaginable heights.
“New pathways of knowledge and research emerged from here; unlimited possibilities related to enterprises and industries took birth here and it is from here that constant flow of humanitarian values emerged for the world,” PM Modi said.
PM Modi highlighted that the tyrants who ruled over India first targeted our symbols. “The revival of these cultural symbols post-Independence was important. Had we respected our cultural identity, then the feeling of unity and self-respect would have been strong in the country. But this is not what happened. The restoration of Somnath Temple post-Independence was opposed,” he said.
This premise of the Modi government’s policy of development in the holy cities of Kashi linked with spirituality has given a much-needed impetus to the people-led campaign of revival of the lost symbols of Hindu civilisation.
The upcoming inauguration of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir and Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla on 22nd January 2024 is a fine example of the same. The unquestionable devotion of billions of Hindus towards Shri Ram is not lost on anyone. Ayodhya is expected to be thronged with tourists after the Ram Mandir inauguration.
The temple itself is built on a 2.7 acres area with 12 gates and 3 floors. As per reports, the tourist footfall expected in Ayodhya by 2051 is a staggering three lakh people per day. In 2021, 1.57 crore tourists had visited the holy city.
This number rose to more than 2.39 crore domestic tourists in 2022 and 1,465 foreign tourists. This brings numbers of visitors to nearly 4 crore in 2021-22. Reports said this figure is estimated to touch 8 to 10 crores after the temple opens in January 2024.
Clearly, such devotion merits development for the convenient travel of devotees and pilgrims to the holy city. The Ayodhya International Airport is soon to be open to travelers.
Maryada Purshottam Shri Ram International Airport will witness its inaugural flight reportedly on 30th December from the national capital to Ayodhya whereas regular flights will begin from 6th January.
Vande Bharat trains will now also connect Ayodhya to the national capital, Varanasi and to Sitamarhi in Bihar. This circuit connecting through the Vande Bharat makes journey for pilgrims to the revered cities easier in terms of time and money too.
Another key highlight is the Ramayana Circuit (or Ram Circuit) which aims to connect major pilgrim sites in India and Nepal linked to the Ramayana. This thematic circuit is identified under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism.
The city has seen whopping investments in real estate too. A Mumbai-based real estate company The House of Abhinandan Lodha has invested nearly ₹300 crore in acquiring a 25-acre land parcel in Ayodhya and has laid out a plan to launch a plotted development project in January 2024.
The project is situated approximately 12 to 15 minutes from the Shri Ram Temple. According to Samujjwal Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HOABL, the company expects to invest roughly 1200 crore over three to four years that is by December 2026.
CP Kukreja Architects and L&T submitted their master blueprint plan for Ayodhya in January 2022. The firms have identified more than 40 tourism spots and development of the same is being done in phases.
The project includes development of public amenities, street furniture, broadening and “pedestrianisation” of roads along with redevelopment of Saryu riverfront.
“A tourism facilitation centre with 115 keys and six Dharamshalas that can accommodate 7200 beds have been proposed along with international museums that highlight the city’s rich cultural heritage,” ET quoted Dikshu C Kukreja, managing principal, at CP Kukreja Architects.
Add to that a solar city near the Saryu River, ferries, luxury river cruise, houseboats are only some of the many tourism-boosters to attract visitors and pilgrims alike. All this made possible with one grand temple.
Varanasi, a city of lights and temples, is witnessing the same gush of development. “The work that began with Somnath (restoration of Somnath Temple) has become a movement today,” PM said in his address on Monday (18th December).
Since the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham, a record 12.0 crore devotees have visited in just two years of the development of the temple corridor. This number is expected to cross 13 crore soon.
Subsequently, facilities for tourists and devotees have increased. Notably, earlier, the temple premises had an area of only 3000 square feet. It was enlarged in 2021 to about 5 lakh square feet. This has allowed a capacity of 50,000 – 75,000 devotees in the temple premises.
The temple drew 7.35 million devotees within a year of the development of the corridor. Varanasi’s tourist footfall was eight times that of Goa in 2022.
In fact, after Kashi, other holy cities in U.P. including Mathura, Ayodhya, and Prayagraj had more tourists than Goa in 2022, indicating a massive increase in spiritual tourism of India’s ancient holy cities.
In this backdrop, PM Modi on Monday laid the foundation stone of development projects worth over Rs 19,150 crores in Baba Kashinath’s city. Being a representative of the Kashi constituency, PM Modi has used his position of power to keep his constituency in the headlines too.
This was his second visit to Varanasi in four months, the last one being in September. The fast-paced development in the holy cities of Ayodhya and Kashi and beyond aim to make the pilgrimage sites as the centre for growth and development across the country.
The confluence of divinity and development is sure to boost both, the cultural and economical strength of India and also bring back India’s lost heritage to life.
