Infra Blitz In Ayodhya Ahead Of Ram Mandir Inauguration

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the revamped Ayodhya Dham Junction, Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, 8 new trains, and a slew of development projects as part of a $1.3-billion infrastructure blitzkrieg at the temple town.

A total of six new Vande Bharat trains and two Amrit Bharat trains were flagged off virtually by the prime minister. The Ayodhya Railway Station has been redeveloped at a cost of Rs 240 crore.

Ayodhya Dham Station can service up to 60,000 people every day when it is complete, Modi said.

Thereafter, Modi went on to inaugurate the airport where he claimed that Phase I of the airport costed Rs 1,450 crore and it aims to serve 10 lakh passengers annually. Sixty lakh travellers can travel from the international airport every year once the work on Phase II is complete.

The terminal building has an area of 6,500 square metres, equipped to serve about 10 lakh passengers annually. The building's facade depicts the architecture of the Ram Mandir, while its interiors are decorated with local art, paintings and murals depicting Lord Ram's life.

Various types of aircraft will be able to land at the new airport, including narrow-body Airbus A321 and Boeing 737, Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday.

"The airport aims to improve tourism in the region and improve business opportunities," Modi said.

Later today, the prime minister will also lay the foundation stones of development projects worth more than Rs 15,700 crore for Uttar Pradesh. These include projects worth about Rs 11,100 crore for the development of Ayodhya and its surrounding areas, and projects worth about Rs 4,600 crore related to other works across Uttar Pradesh.

This visit by the prime minister comes just ahead of the "pran pratishtha", or consecration ceremony, of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Jan. 22.

After inaugurating the station, the prime minister took a tour of the facility. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and others.

The three-storey railway station building is equipped with features such as lifts, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloak rooms, child care rooms, waiting halls.

Amrit Bharat Express is a new category of superfast passenger trains with non air-conditioned coaches. Modi flagged off two of these new trains: Darbhanga-Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Amrit Bharat Express and Malda Town-Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminus (Bengaluru) Amrit Bharat Express.

He also waved the green flags for six new Vande Bharat trains, which include Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express and Ayodhya-Anand Vihar Terminal Vande Bharat Express.