Ayodhya is all geared up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit today, with the city being decked up with flowers, murals and thematic ornamental columns amid heavy security deployment in the temple town.
Ahead of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Modi will inaugurate a slew of development projects today, including an airport and a redeveloped railway station, and flag off two new Amrit Bharat and six new Vande Bharat trains.
Modi will launch projects worth more than Rs 11,100 crore to revamp civic facilities and develop world-class infrastructure in Ayodhya and projects worth over Rs 4,600 crore for other parts of Uttar Pradesh.
He will be welcomed by more than 1,400 artistes, who will present folk art and cultural programmes on 40 stages set up along the route from the airport to the railway station.
The prime minister will also address a public rally near the airport. More than a lakh people are expected to assemble for the rally that will last nearly an hour, after which Modi will depart from Ayodhya.
His visit also comes less than a month before the 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) of the upcoming Ram temple, scheduled to be held on January 22.
Ayodhya railway station and new trains
At around 11:15 am, the prime minister will inaugurate the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station and flag off new Amrit Bharat trains and Vande Bharat trains.
The first phase of the redeveloped Ayodhya railway station - named Ayodhya Dham Junction - has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore. The three-storey modern station building is equipped with all modern features, such as elevators, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloak rooms, child-care rooms and waiting halls.
The Amrit Bharat trains will have locomotives at both ends for better acceleration. The trains will provide improved facilities for the passengers, such as beautiful and attractively-designed seats, better luggage racks, mobile phone charging points with suitable phone holders, LED lights, CCTV cameras and a public information system.
Modi will also virtually flag off the inaugural run of the Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express through video link.
Airport to be named after Valmiki?
The prime minister is expected to inaugurate the Ayodhya airport at around 12:15 pm. The airport will, reportedly, be named "Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham", after the saint who wrote the epic "Ramayana". Valmiki also enjoys a large following, especially among Dalits.
The first phase of the state-of-the-art airport has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 1,450 crore. Its terminal building will have 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 temple while its interiors are decorated with local art, paintings and murals depicting Ram's life.
It is also equipped with insulated roofing system, LED lighting, rain-water harvesting, landscaping with fountains, a water treatment plant, a sewage treatment plant, a solar power plant and many other facilities, to meet the five-star GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) ratings.
(With PTI inputs)
