After the monumental ruling by the Supreme Court over the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir dispute in 2019, preparations to build the temple are in full swing.
While the citizens of the country have conflicting opinions regarding the court verdict, the UP government is going out of its way to rebuild Ayodhya into a global religious centre.
According to government officials of Ayodhya, preparations are in full swing to make Ayodhya the ‘Vatican City for Hindus’. The city is to be transformed into the primary pilgrimage centre for Hindus. Efforts are being made to rebuild the city and lay the city’s convoluted past to rest.
Ayodhya’s Anticipated Makeover
The government is definitely going out of its way to make the city as comfortable and modern as possible while developing it using ‘ancient Vedic city planning principles’. The authorities are planning on building a greenfield township in the outskirts of Ayodhya.
The plans also include making an international airport and considerable renovation is planned for the Faizabad airport (a probable renaming is also on the cards).
Along with the Ram Lalla temple being built on a massive 67 acre-plot, massive four-lane highways are on the cards to make the city better connected.
Ayodhya’s district magistrate, Anuj Kumar Jha, in an interview mentioned that the government aims to develop various amenities ‘before or around the same time the Ram temple is completed.’
The government is expecting a huge influx of tourists after the temple is built and is planning to build more hotels, residential setups, and statehouses (like the UP Bhavan), even from other states. The city is going to be religiously commercialised and the government is counting on the anticipated tourist in-flow for larger revenue.
Also Read: OpED: What Do Indian Millennials Think Of The Ayodhya Verdict?
Ayodhya – The Controversial City
As mentioned earlier (and is probably known to every Indian by now), the city of Ayodhya has had a rough history, especially over religious grounds. While multiple sources claim that the issues are in fact political rather than communal, the city has witnessed multiple violent riots over the years.
The government of the country stands with the Supreme Court ruling and the foundation stone for the temple was laid and the construction plans were made at an astounding pace.
The authorities, in fact, are investing approximately 1000 crore on the temple alone, while the city’s infrastructural changes are expected to cost around 2000 crores. The airport is also said to be renamed Maryada Purshottam Shriram Airport, approved by the UP cabinet in November 2020.
While the whole incident can be said to be the nation’s Achilles heel, people are in fact scared to voice their opinions regarding the whole plan – that is how emotionally complex the whole case is.
While we cannot ignore how the state authorities are making the city ‘religion-centred’, the fact that the same can economically benefit the state and its revenues can also not be ignored.
If put to the right use, the revenue can in fact try to reverse the emotional and material damage that the citizens of Ayodhya had been facing over the years.
What are your thoughts on Ayodhya being made into the Vatican City for Hindus? Let us know by commenting below!
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Print, Business Standard, Financial Express
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This post is tagged under: Ayodhya; ayodhaya ram bhoomi hearing; Ayodhya Dispute; Ayodhya Judgment; ram lala; babri masjid demolition; babri masjid; babri masjid ram mandir hearing; modern ayodhya; faizabad airport; Vatican City of India; Vatican City for Hindus; UP government; Yogi Adityanath Government
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