Adityanath to celebrate first Diwali as UP CM in Ayodhya

LUCKNOW/AYODHYA: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is likely to celebrate Diwali – his first after taking over the reins of the state – on the banks of Saryu in Ayodhya.

Though the CM’s itinerary is yet to be finalised, sources confirmed that the move, apart from reinforcing the government’s Hindutva agenda, is also aimed at marketing Ayodhya as a tourist destination of Uttar Pradesh.

Prominent temples in Ayodhya will be decked up along with ghats of Saryu for the Diwali celebration of Adityanath and his cabinet ministers.

Sources said a meeting of senior officials was held in Lucknow on Thursday to chalk out the plan for the celebrations in Ayodhya.

The meeting was attended by divisional commissioner and district magistrate of Faizabad, special secretary (culture), special secretary (tourism), officer on special duty to the chief minister, vice-chancellor of Avadh University (Faizabad), and director of Ayodhya Research Institute.

“The CM’s programme is yet to be finalised but we are looking for ways to market Ayodhya as a tourist destination. We are creating necessary infrastructure and facilities around it,” a senior tourism department official said.

In an interview to a news channel on Thursday, Adityanath said he could travel to Ayodhya, possibly a day before Diwali. “I have also requested governor Ram Naik to visit Ayodhya on the day as we recreate the ancient city’s golden past,” he told the channel.