Lucknow, Dec 8 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to develop all religio-cultural and spiritual centres of the state into attractive tourist destinations, an official release said here on Thursday.
On that line, the Yogi Adityanath-led government is working to develop Naimisharanya — a temple dedicated to lord Vishnu in Sitapur — as a Vedic city and a global centre of spiritual, religious and eco-tourism.
According to a press statement issued by the state government, the masterplan being prepared by the tourism department also includes the rejuvenation of Misrikh-Neemsar of Sitapur, along with Naimisharanya.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet in November gave its nod to renovate Naimisharanya as a spiritual tourism centre in view of its mythological significance. It also decided to form the Naimisharanya Teerth Vikas Parishad, the statement read.
According to the master plan, Naimisharanya has been divided into four tourism zones due to its diverse natural and man-made attractions.
Principal Secretary of the tourism department, Mukesh Meshram said along with religious places, the city as a whole will be developed. Transit nodes will be developed along with the gateways of the city.
Dedicated parking lots will also be built. Similarly, charging points for electric vehicles as well as common civic amenities like a tourist facilitation centre, Dharamshala and food court will be provided.
In addition, dedicated footpaths will also be built for the safety of lakhs of pilgrims visiting the place and common facilities will be made available to the citizens in 84 Kosi Parikrama area, the statement said.
As per the plan, since Sitapur is majorly dependent on groundwater resources, an alternative source needs to be developed to avoid groundwater depletion. Therefore, the government was planning to encourage people to adopt a rainwater harvesting system.
Rainwater harvesting systems should be provided in new and all public buildings. A rainwater system is required to be provided for the development of more than 5,000 square meters, he said.
The rejuvenation of Naimisharanya has been planned in three ways. Under the first plan, all the religious places will be rejuvenated by the tourism department. These include Chakra Tirth Temple, Maa Lalita Devi Temple, Dadhichi Kund, transit nodes at the entrance of cities, common civic amenities, development of 84 Kosi Parikrama Path and tourism-based infrastructure.
The second plan is to develop the place through grants from the Central and state governments, the statement added. PTI COR CDN RDT
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