Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday signed off a new tourism strategy which aims to become the state and country's premier destination for spiritual and religious pilgrims. As the state's minister of urban development, AK Sharma, said, the program also prioritises the revitalisation of less-visited areas.
Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Bithoor, and other similar "places of importance" would be included in the Ramayana circuit, he said, outlining a new policy agreed upon by the Adityanath administration.
The Buddhist circuit would comprise Kapilvastu, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kaushambi, Ramgram, Shravasti, and other locations, while the Krishna circuit will include Mathura, Gokul, Vrindavan, Govardhan, Barsana, Nandgaon, and Baldev.
The minister also announced that the Parshwanath Digambar Jain monastery in Ramnagar will be included in the Jain circuit that now begins at Deogarh, Hastinapur.
Sharma has said that across the state, sanctuary and forest reserves would be built to encourage wildlife and eco-tourism and that locations with natural splendour and environmental potential will be discovered and promoted.
Moreover, he mentioned plans to improve tourist-friendly infrastructure and expand wildlife-centric growth zones simultaneously.
He also said that stops at Hastinapur, Barnawa, Mathura, Kampilya, Echhatra, Kaushambi, Gonda, and Lakshagriha were planned for the Mahabharata's grand tour.
The Shaktipeeth loop will likewise be constructed in a similar fashion. It would stretch from Saharanpur's Shivani Devi, Chitrakoot, and Sheetla Mata in the Mau district to Devipatan, Maa Lalita Devi, Naimisharanya, Maa Jwala Devi, and Shakumbhari Devi in the Naimisharanya.
Gorakhpur, Sant Ravidas Sthal, Balrampur, Mathura, Maa Parameshwari Devi, Bighu Ashram, Azamgarh, Bateshwar of Agra, and Hanuman Dham have all been included on the list, he said, to increase religious tourism in the state.
Along the same lines, a Sufi Kabir loop will be created. Kabirdas' Karmabhoomi - Lahartara in Varanasi is projected to connect to the existing nodes in Amethi, Maghar, and Sant Kabir Nagar.
The government, even the innovators, will also create hobbyist circuits. The areas already well-known for their handmade goods will be prioritized for expansion. The minister said that a plan to build a craft circuit incorporating all such regions had been approved.
The Bundelkhand circuit would also be expanded, he added, along with other historic locations like Meerut, Shahjahanpur, Kakori, and Chaurichaura from the independence movement. Charkhari, Chitrakoot, Deogarh, Lalitpur, Kalinjar, Jhansi, Banda, Hamirpur, Mahoba, and Jalaun are only a few of the districts included.
Budget hotels, historic hotels, five-star hotels, historic homestays, eco-tourism modules, caravan tourist units, exhibitions, pilgrim dorms, Dharamshalas, health resorts, all-weather season camps, reservoir lakes, and well-being and adventurous tourism activities are all included in the new policy.
(Edited by : Priyanka Deshpande)
