Pitching Uttar Pradesh as the country's spiritual and religious tourism hub, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday claimed to have implemented extensive reforms to develop and promote the pilgrim spots which will not only give the state a worldwide recognition but also play a vital role in generating numerous employment opportunities for the locals
"Tourism greatly supplements an economy and creates jobs at the local level. A number of countries are totally tourism-driven economies. Our state government is also proactively promoting the tourism sector with this objective,' Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said while laying the foundation stones of projects worth Rs 180 crore for 373 assembly constituencies of the state in Gorakhpur on Saturday.
An official communiqué confirmed that with the constant efforts of Yogi Adityanath in beautifying even the extreme corners of the state, UP today stands as the state with limitless possibilities and his government has ushered in a new era of growth and development.
In every assembly constituency, the development and beautification of rural, religious and heritage spots proposed by the legislator will be done under the Chief Minister Tourism Promotion Scheme.
Under the Central roadmap to boost domestic tourism, UP has witnessed the development of maximum religious tourism hubs, which prominently comprise Ramayana Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Sufi Circuit, Shaktipeeth Circuit, Adhyatmik Circuit, Jain Circuit etc. which is yielding results as it is automatically attracting foreign as well as domestic tourists and is also creating employment opportunities for the local youth and giving a boost to the economy of the regional hotels, markets and restaurants.
Referring to the Kumbh Mela, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the government succeeded in giving the mega event a global recognition with the participation of 24 crore devotees.
Prayagraj attracted a large footfall as people flocked to be a part of the auspicious ritual which also enhanced the economy of the local shopkeepers up to 15 times more than the usual, he pointed out.
Throwing light on the sustained efforts of the government in promoting tourism, the chief minister gave a special mention to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream project of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor.
He said that Kashi was going to become the centre of the biggest cultural events in the world through the Baba Vishwanath Temple Corridor under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"During the inauguration of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916, Mahatma Gandhi was dismayed by the narrow streets and the lack of cleanliness in Kashi. Bapu had made the comment 100 years ago, but today under the guidance of PM Modi, the fame of Kashi is being established internationally," Yogi claimed.
He said that the government had also carried out the construction of a facility centre in Kashi which had not only played a vital role in attracting domestic and international tourists but also had generated employment opportunities for the locals in the region itself.
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust has raised an additional income of Rs 1 crore, annually from this centre.
The chief minister said that along with the Vedic Shodh Peeth in BHU, Sant Kabir Shodh Peeth was also being established in Maghar town of Sant Kabir Nagar and local places associated with the Jatashankar in Gorakhpur, Gurudwara of Mohammadpur and Kalibari temple were also being redeveloped.
Hitting out at the opposition for neglecting the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, Yogi Adityanath mentioned the development work going on at the Ayodhya Dham and said that the grand Ayodhya Deepotsav broke the Guinness World Record with lighting of more than three lakh earthen lamps and keeping them lit for at least 45 minutes on the banks of river Saryu as part of the annual celebration of Diwali.
He said that the flower petals that used to be considered as a waste after being offered to the deities were now giving employment opportunities to women belonging to self-help groups of Naxal-affected villages of Chandauli as they were making a living out of those petals by making perfumes, incense and incense sticks.
He added that such a practice could be done anywhere and the soil fertility could also be enhanced by making compost out of these flower petals.
Yogi Adityanath also emphasised on the development of tourist places and keeping them clean. He said that the premises of every temple would be renovated and redeveloped with proper roads, parking facilities and would be equipped with adequate sanitation facilities and strict security measures for the convenience of the devotees.
The chief minister said that to promote tourism, the government had laid extreme focus on transport and connectivity. He said the facility of air service to Ayodhya Dham would attract people from all over the world while the Kushinagar airport was all ready to welcome international flights. He said Gorakhpur already facilitates flights to major cities. "Besides, a table-top airport is being built in Chitrakoot and places like Azamgarh, Sonbhadra, Lalitpur, Shravasti etc will also be equipped with air services soon," he added.
The chief minister said that all the 403 assembly constituencies of UP would be benefited under the Chief Minister Tourism Promotion Scheme. He said places from where proposals had not been received in time would also be given priority by taking proposals from the legislators.
Referring to the public representatives, the chief minister added that every tourist place should have something unique like Brahmamuhurta would have something like Sankirtan.
Tourism Minister, Neelkanth Tiwari along with eminent personalities were present during the event.