THROUGH THE development of religious tourism destinations, corridors, Parikrama Marg, civic amenities, roads leading to religious sites, steps to promote “religious heritage” through renovation and reconstruction of protected temples, the Uttar Pradesh government has firmed up a plan and earmarked budgetary provisions to bank on “religious tourism” to boost the state’s economy. The initiative has got a fresh impetus after the recently concluded Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, officials said.
On the basis of its experiences during the Maha Kumbh, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government is focusing on religious tourism to achieve its $1-trillion dollar economy goal and working on a plan to develop and beautify religious tourism destinations, right from eastern and western UP as well as Terai region to the Bundelkhand region in Uttar Pradesh. The plan is to promote these places as part of a “bigger religious tourism package” giving them an infrastructure boost and promoting Uttar Pradesh as the place to experience “Sanatan culture”, officials said.
It is for this reason that in the state, which is known for expressways, a significant provision of around Rs 1,000 crore has been made in the current budget for development of religious corridors, civic amenities, parikrama paths or roads leading to prominent temples and the establishment of a “vedic science” centre. Officials pointed out that the Maha Kumbh has made it evident that people across the country wish to experience “Sanatan culture” first-hand and Uttar Pradesh has the potential to provide it to them and thus boost its economy as well.
Sources said that at least eight major religious places were identified across the state and work is underway to develop them as potential religious tourism destinations, even as efforts are on to identify and develop more such places. Also, against the backdrop of large crowds being stuck on the roads during Kumbh, the government has now prepared a plan to develop amenities and camp facilities at every 50 km on major highways and also develop roads leading to religious sites for which separate provision has already been made in this year’s budget as well.
“We saw people or followers of Sanatan Dharma from across the globe coming in for religious tourism, spiritual tourism or faith tourism sites to have a once in a lifetime experience. Kumbh Mela was there in the past as well but most people did not have such an idea but in today’s digital or social media world, information spreads far and wide. We saw people coming from south India or abroad not just to Prayagraj but planning package trip to Kashi, Ayodhya, Mathura etc,” said Mukesh Meshram, Principal Secretary, Uttar Pradesh culture and tourism department.
Sources inform that while three studies are being conducted to ascertain the impact of Maha Kumbh on economic aspects, preliminary analysis showed that people bought expensive tickets even at the last minute and were ready to pay much higher prices than usual for their stay as interest in becoming part of the experience peaked.
“To put some examples in perspective, more than 24,000 people used chartered planes, from the capacity of 8-10 to even larger ones. Around 7,000 new boats were operating. Then there were a large number of two-wheelers, which found business there to take people from one place to another when four wheelers could not move,” informed Meshram, adding that while commercial websites for accommodation claim to have created inventory of four lakh rooms across Uttar Pradesh, even taxi services have increased their presence across the state, especially in the places significant from the point of view of religious tourism.
While in the past few years, Varanasi (Kashi), Ayodhya and Prayagraj have been given infrastructural boost, now Mathura-Vrindavan is clearly next in line as the focus of the government. A provision of Rs 150 crore has been made in the current budget just for development of Banke Bihari Corridor in Mathura-Vrindavan, while funds have been allocated for development of other amenities.
Other religious destinations, which are being developed with increased focus include Naimisharanya in Sitapur, Gora Gokarannath in Lakhimpur Kheri, Deva in Barabanki, Shakumbari in Saharanpur, Sukhteerth in Muzaffarnagar, very little know Soro Shookar Kshetra in Kasganj area, Hastinapur as well as Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand.
Efforts are on to promote Naimisharayana as “Vedic city” and a provision of Rs 100 crore has been made in the state budget in this regard. To promote the destination as the centre of “Vedic science”, another Rs 100 crore provision has been made for establishment of Ved Vigyan Centre in Naimisharanya. Officials informed that the “Destination Development Plan of Naimisharanya” is being implemented. Not to mention, recently Satya Narayan Katha recitation was organised in Naimisharanya to promote the destination and around 3,000 people from Andhra Pradesh participated in it, officials said. The plan for development also include promotion of smaller temples as well as the development of a parikrama marg in the region.
Oher potential such destinations include Gola Gokarannath in Lakhimpur Kheri, where there is a Shiva temple and the region is popularly known as “Chota Kashi”.
