Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari told Parliament that Kailash Mansarovar, a Hindu, Jains, and Buddhist pilgrimage site, will be accessible from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand by the end of next year, as part of a list of religious tourism projects expected to be completed before the 2024 general elections.
“I’m not interested in going to Kailash Mansarovar through Nepal or China.” By the end of 2023, Indians will be able to go to Mansarovar from Pithoragarh. Mr. Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that 85 percent of the work had been finished.
Kailash Mansarovar will be connected
He also stated that the 258-kilometer Ram Van Gaman Marg, which will connect Ayodhya and Chitrakoot and cost 5,000 crores to construct, will be completed by the end of 2023. Next year will also see the completion of the 236-kilometer Ram–Janaki Marg, which will connect Ayodhya with Janakpur in Nepal at a cost of 2,000 crores. Lord Ram is said to have been born in Ayodhya, and Sita is said to have been born in Janakpur, according to Hindu legend.
Minister Gadkari had stated in Uttar Pradesh that the government would create tourist circuits connecting all of the locations where Lord Ram is believed to have traveled during his exile from Ayodhya to Rameswaram.
By the end of 2023, the 84–kos parikrama, a National Highway (NH) that allows circumambulation of major landmarks related to Ram’s reign, will be completed. It is a 235-kilometer long NH that is being built at a cost of Rs. 4,000 crore. Ayodhya’s ring road, which is also being built at a cost of 4,000 crores, will be completed by the end of the year.
By December 2023, the Chardham project, which includes Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath, will be completed, with more than 500 kilometers of the 827 kilometers completed. At a cost of 20,000 crores, a 419–km Buddhist circuit connecting Gautam Buddha’s birthplace with Bodhgaya, where he obtained enlightenment, and Kushinagar, where he breathed his last, is being prepared.
The government is building the Palkhi Marg in Maharastra for the Pandharpur pilgrimage at a cost of 5,000 crores.
Apart from these tourist projects, the Minister stated that significant highway improvements will be completed by the end of 2022, reducing the distance between Delhi and places like Jaipur, Dehradun, and Haridwar by two hours, four hours for Haridwar, and 12-13 hours for Mumbai.
By the end of 2022, the road route between Srinagar and Mumbai will be cut in half, as the Srinagar–Jammu highway will connect with the Katra–Delhi motorway, which will then connect with the Delhi–Mumbai highway.
By the end of 2023, the 84–kos parikrama, a National Highway (NH) that allows circumambulation of major landmarks related to Ram’s reign, will be completed. It is a 235-kilometer long NH that is being built at a cost of Rs. 4,000 crore.