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Ayodhya road widening project: Demolition drive begins from Sanskrit Vidyalay, shops spared as of now
In the proposed plan, two stretches of the road in Ayodhya Dham (Old Ayodhya town), including the one leading to the historic Hanuman Garhi temple, will be widened
LUCKNOW The Ayodhya administration on Thursday began a demolition drive for the road widening project in the temple town. As the squad reached Sanskrit Vidyalay in Bada sthan area and razed a part of the school building, traders reached there and opposed the drive.
The administration, however, assured traders that shops won’t be demolished till the promises made to them were fulfilled.
“The Ayodhya administration had assured that a new shop will be allotted for every shop demolished or land will be allotted behind demolished shops. But none of the promises have been fulfilled,” said trader leader Nand Kumar Gupta, who also reached the spot.
The administration convened a meeting with traders on Friday to discuss the issue.
BJP MP from Ayodhya, Lallu Singh, and party MLA, Ved Prakash Gupta, had on Wednesday requested the district administration to postpone the demolition drive in wake of the month-long Sawan mela.
A large number of devotees are expected in Ayodhya for the Sawan Mela, which is being organised after a gap of two years. It was cancelled on the last two occasions due to the pandemic.
THE PROJECT
In the proposed plan, two stretches of the road in Ayodhya Dham (Old Ayodhya town), including the one leading to the historic Hanuman Garhi temple, will be widened.
Shopkeepers on both sides of the road are opposing this project as a large number of shops are likely to be demolished.
Another major expansion of the road is proposed from 4.6-km Naya Ghat to Udaya crossing stretch. The road is proposed to be 24 feet (12 feet on both sides of the divider).
A large number of commercial establishments fall on this stretch of the road and traders are demanding that the proposed expansion be curtailed to 20 ft from 24 ft.
