Author: Sakina Yusuf Khan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 12, 2003
Introduction: Jagmohan plans to
jazz up temple town with airstrip, swanky walkway
If Union tourism minister Jagmohan
has his way, and if other ministries (civil aviation in particular) cooperate,
Ayodhya will be transformed from a temple town to one of India's leading
tourist attractions. Over the next six months, it is to be developed
as "a wonder of resurgent India".
On the cards are an airport (with
a helicopter and 50seater aircraft service from Lucknow), a new railway
station, five-star hotels, a museum, a cultural centre and much
more. Rs 6 crore has been already pledged for the initial facelift.
The Saryu riverfront is slated to
be imaginatively developed as one of the world's best walkways.
Between this seven-km walkway and the road, there will be shops, kiosks
and a Yatri Niwas. The existing structures, most being ugly and rickety,
will be pulled down.
An old palace of the local raja
is to be converted into a heritage hotel, possibly by the Taj or the
Oberoi group. An attractive light-and-sound show on the Ramayana
on the Saryu riverfront is also being planned.
What about the Ram mandir?
"My plans for Ayodhya are independent of the temple. It is part of
my holistic approach to developing tourism in centres of ancient
cultural heritage. You cannot offer a place as an attractive
tourist destination without reasonably good infrastructure," he says.
Ayodhya has always been an important
pilgrimage centre, but how has it suddenly begun to figure on India's
tourist footprint? "People are interested in Ram, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharat.
They would like to discover the
mystique of Ram and his Ayodhya," says Jagmohan. And it's not as
if he is promoting pilgrimage centres of only one religion, he tells
you. "I've allocated funds for the Dargah in Ajmer, the tomb of Nizamuddin
Auliya and even for the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Nobody talks
of that. I have great plans for Ayodhya, and why not?" says Jagmohan.
