Ayodhya's 'Maryada Purushottam Sriram airport' gets ₹101 crore in budget

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved a proposal to name the upcoming airport in Ayodhya in November last year.

The under-construction airport in Ayodhya, to be named Maryada Purushottam Sriram Airport after Lord Ram, secured ₹101 crore from the Uttar Pradesh government in the budget presented in the state Assembly on Monday.

Workers give finishing touches to the model of the proposed Ram temple that Hindu groups want to build at a religious site in Ayodhya, on a tableau during a media preview of tableaux participating in the Republic Day parade in New Delhi, India January 22, 2021. (REUTERS)

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved a proposal to name the upcoming airport in Ayodhya in November last year.

After the cabinet decision, deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had tweeted in Hindi and said that the UP government is committed to positioning Ayodhya as a top religious spot globally.

"Yogi government’s cabinet has approved the naming of Ayodhya airport as Maryada Purshotam Shriram Airport. Your state government is committed towards positioning Shriram Lala’s city Ayodhya among the top religious places in the world,” Maurya had said in the tweet.

Besides the provision for Ayodhya airport, which will subsequently be upgraded to international airport, the budget also provides for ₹2,000 crore for increasing the number of airstrips at Jewar Airport from two to six.

Cities like Aligarh, Moradabad, Meerut will also be linked through air service soon, chief minister Yogi Adityanath told reporters after the presentation of the budget by finance minister Suresh Khanna.

The government also set aside funds for the Ganga Expressway Project, which links Meerut to Allahabad as a provision of ₹7,200 crore has been made for land acquisition and ₹489 crore for construction work.

A provision of ₹12,441 crore has been made for the construction of roads and bridges under the Public Works Department and a budget of ₹4,135 crore proposed for the maintenance of roads and bridges. A budget of ₹695 crore has been proposed for connecting villages and habitations with pucca link roads.

The budget also provides for ₹440 crore for construction of roads under World Bank Aided Uttar Pradesh Core Road Network Project and ₹208 crore for construction of roads under the Asian Development Bank assisted UP Mukhya Zila Vikas Pariyojna.

Besides, a budget of ₹1,192 crore is proposed for the construction of railway overbridges.

(With inputs from PTI)