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Yogi lays foundation of ₹180-cr tourism projects
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday pitched Uttar Pradesh as the country’s spiritual and religious tourism hub
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday pitched Uttar Pradesh as the country’s spiritual and religious tourism hub. He said the state government implemented extensive reforms to develop and promote 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.
He was speaking while laying the foundation stone of tourism projects worth over ₹180 crore for 373 assembly constituencies of the state in Gorakhpur.
“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,” Yogi Adityanath said.
Rural, religious and heritage spots proposed by the legislator will be developed and beautified under the “Chief Minister Tourism Promotion Scheme” in every assembly constituency, the state government said in a statement.
In consonance with a central road map to boost domestic tourism, UP has witnessed the development of maximum religious tourism hubs, which prominently comprise the Ramayan circuit, Buddhist circuit, Krishna circuit, Sufi circuit, Shaktipeeth circuit, Adhyatmik circuit and the Jain circuit.
These were yielding results and attracting foreign, as well as domestic tourists, besides creating employment opportunities for the local youth and giving a boost to the business of regional hotels, markets and restaurants, the statement said.
Referring to the Kumbh Mela-2019, 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 event, which also enhanced the economy of the local shopkeepers up to 15 times more than the usual, he added.
The chief minister also mentioned Prime Minister Modi’s dream project Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi. He said Kashi would become the centre of the biggest cultural events in the world through the Vishwanath Temple Corridor under the guidance of PM Modi.
Yogi said that 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,” the chief minister said.
He said flower petals that used to be considered a waste after being offered to the deities were now giving employment opportunities to women belonging to self-help groups in villages of Chandauli as they were making perfumes, incense and incense sticks from the petals to earn a living.
