Union minister, CM Yogi Adityanath review development projects

The Chief Minister emphasised that the coming Prayagraj Maha Kumbh, set to take place in 2025 after a 12-year interval, would be “grander” than all previous Kumbh festivals. This “intangible cultural heritage of humanity” will showcase to the world the rich traditions of Sanatan Indian culture, its diverse social fabric, and the deep-rooted faith of the people.

The Chief Minister highlighted that while the 2019 Kumbh involved the cooperation of 5,721 institutions, around 10,000 institutions are now actively participating in the upcoming Maha Kumbh. Comprehensive arrangements are being made for the convenience of devotees in the Maha Kumbh Mela area, which is divided into 25 sectors spanning 4,000 hectares. The preparations include 12 km-long ghats, parking facilities across 1,850 hectares, 450 km of checkered plates, 30 pontoon bridges, 67,000 streetlights, 1,50,000 toilets, 1,50,000 tents, and over 25,000 public accommodations. Additionally, a special action plan has been developed to ensure security and convenience during key bathing festivals such as Paush Purnima, Makar Sankranti, Mauni Amavasya, Basant Panchami, Magh Purnima, and Mahashivratri.

The Chief Minister briefed the Union Minister on the ongoing tourism development projects at various holy sites, including the Hanuman Mandir Corridor, Akshayvat Patalpuri, Saraswati Koop, Bhardwaj Ashram, Dwadash Madhav Temple, Shivalaya Park, Dashashwamedh Temple, and Nagvasuki Temple. He directed the officials to ensure that all these projects are completed by November 30 without fail.

The Union Minister assessed the progress of projects from various departments, including Urban Development, Irrigation, NHAI, Tourism, and Culture and expressed confidence that all the work would be completed on schedule.

The Union Minister emphasized that in a large-scale event like the Maha Kumbh, four key elements — information, cleanliness, communication, and security (suchna, swacchta, sanchar aur suraksha) — are crucial and should be addressed with a comprehensive approach. He stated that Mahakumbh 2025 presents a significant opportunity to elevate tourism in Uttar Pradesh. He recommended developing an app to assist foreign tourists during the Mahakumbh, which should include barcodes on signage that can be scanned to provide information about specific locations and various areas within the fair. He also suggested that the Mahakumbh app feature a convenient one-touch help system for the police helpline. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of displaying the QR code for the Mahakumbh app at all airports, railway stations, bus stations, and major locations across the country.

The Union Minister highlighted that visitors attending the Mahakumbh will likely be interested in exploring other tourist destinations beyond Prayagraj, and Uttar Pradesh has significant potential in this regard.

Union Minister Shekhawat stated that the Union Culture Ministry is making arrangements to showcase the diverse culture of India during the Maha Kumbh. He emphasized that for effective organization, it would be beneficial for the various cultural programs planned in the fair area to be coordinated collaboratively between the Union Tourism Ministry and the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department. To facilitate this, he suggested forming a committee to ensure better coordination between the Culture Department of Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India’s Culture Ministry.

The Chief Minister said that to honour Sanatan faith and promote Vedic knowledge, a Veda Science Centre would be established at the earliest in the Naimisharanya Dham in Sitapur district, with a budgetary provision already made for this initiative. He emphasized that the establishment of the Veda Science Study Center will facilitate efforts to make the knowledge contained in the Vedas and Puranas accessible to the general public.

The Union Minister reviewed the progress of the Vision Document 2047 aimed at developing Ayodhya Dham. He expressed satisfaction with the initiatives being undertaken for ‘Navya Ayodhya’ and underscored the importance of timely execution of the projects.