‘Ram ki Paidi’ in Ayodhya poised for a major facelift
LUCKNOW: By next Diwali, Ayodhya’s ‘Ram ki Paidi’, as the Saryu riverbank in the temple town is known, would be bigger, better and more majestic.
A project of Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti ministry, the extension work of ‘Ram ki Paidi’ is in its final stages and is expected to be complete by this month or early October and is likely to be marketed by the tourism department as a major attraction.
The tourism department has already lined up a major makeover of the temple town and its officials estimate that between 2020 to 2031 Ayodhya would emerge as a major global hub of religious tourism.
The Rs 56 crore revamp of Ram ki Paidi, had been undertaken with this in mind, officials said. “Post revamp, the Ram ki Paidi would have more ghats (from five at present to nine) and more space (as the length of the remodelled bank is being extended from 500 metres to a kilometer), to accommodate devotees who arrive to take a holy dip in the Saryu river during major festivals and fairs,” said VK Niranjan, engineer-inchief of the irrigation department, associated with the remodelling of Ram ki Paidi since 2017.
The first phase of the makeover of ‘Ram ki Paidi’ was completed on October 26, 2019, barely eight months since its start and is said to have impressed chief minister Yogi Adityanath so much that he came there twice and even did
‘achman’ (taking the water for rituals which also includes splashing it on body) and later ordered that the Ram ki Paidi be further extended.
“That was unthinkable so far. I have lived in Ayodhya all my life and am witness to its transformation that led to Yogi ji doing ‘achman’ with it,” said Sharad Sharma, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionary who operates out of the temple town.
As part of the project to transform Ayodhya and make it a global tourist destination, the river discharge flow on the ‘Ram ki Paidi’ which mostly stagnated earlier, was increased markedly, from 40 cusecs (as it was the since 1988, when it was set up) to 240 cusecs to ensure what an officer described as ‘aviralta’, referring to a continuous, steady flow of water.
For this purpose, a pump house was set up.
“To ensure steady flow, we approached the irrigation research institute at Roorkee to make suggestions and on the basis of those the department set about the rather challenging task of ensuring smooth flowing at the ‘Ram ki Paidi’,” said Niranjan.