Lucknow, 20 October: After the completion of the construction of Shri Ram Temple, the traffic of devotees and tourists from different corners of not only the country but also the world will increase in Ayodhya on a large scale. Keeping this in mind, the Yogi government is working on an action plan to develop a Tourism Facilitation Center in an area of 4.40 acres in Ayodhya at an estimated cost of Rs 130 crore.
A spokesperson of the state government said on Friday that as per the intention of Chief Minister Yogi, Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department is going to develop this tourism center at a pre-determined place in Ayodhya keeping in mind the connectivity with National Highway 330 and National Highway 27.
Explaining about the project, he said, all the facilities including tourism office, passenger accommodation, art and craft centre, food court and shopping mart along with various commercial centers as well as parking space will be developed in the tourist centre. It is believed that within the next one to one and a half months the project will come on the ground and the process of materializing the works will begin.
Development will be done on DBFOT model through PPP
The spokesperson said that the Yogi government is focused on completing this project rapidly. In this sequence, the project will be completed by the Tourism Department through Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Design Build Finance Operate Transfer (DBFOT) model. In this detailed action plan, those sites which are currently located in Ayodhya have also been mentioned and the situation regarding their removal and retention during the project has also been clarified.
He said that Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department had already invited applications for bidding in this regard through e-tender portal. Out of these, four applicant companies have also been selected. In the further process, these companies will be given the opportunity for financial bidding and the letter of intent and concession agreement will then be provided to the selected company by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Development will happen under Ayodhya Master Plan 2031
The spokesperson said that these works will be completed under the Master Plan 2031 for the integrated development of Ayodhya. Many types of facilities will be developed in this Tourism Facilitation Centre.
According to him, these include passenger accommodation (comprised of dormitories, banquet and MICE facilities), tourist center (which will act as a hub for tourism activities), tourism office, commercial area (art and craft gallery, shopping area and complex, food court, cafeteria and Restaurants etc.), amphitheatre, landscaped green public spaces with amenities, adequate parking space and services (water, power and DG backup). Development of streetlights, drainage, security, surveillance facilities such as firefighting, CCTV and HVAC are major.
The Spokesman further said, keeping in mind the plot layout, internal road layout, utilities and promotion of green areas prescribed under the Ayodhya Master Plan 2031, the developers will have to get the business plan passed from the Tourism Department and on the same lines, the construction works under the project will be implemented.
Ayodhya Tourism Facilitation Center will have something like this
According to the government spokesperson, Ayodhya Tourism Facilitation Center will have a total built up area of 3273 square meters. This includes shelter homes, craft villages, toilets and HAT structures. The road coming from Chowk Ayodhya Road will act as the main route to this site.
He told, to complete the project in this area, some existing infrastructure will also need to be removed or re-structured. Out of this, Night Basera and Shilpgram can be removed for area expansion under the project, however, the decision on this has not been taken yet and if the decision is taken, this will also be mentioned while issuing the Letter of Intent.
At the same time, the marked area of Ramkatha Park (which will have a stage with amphitheater), Quin Ho Memorial Park will be retained. Apart from this, work can also be done on the canal extension between Tourism Facilitation Center and Cultural Museum.
