Ayodhya to get new 2.5 km-long corridor to manage crowd pressure

Starting from Tedhi Bazar, the seven-meter-wide road will traverse through Asharfi Bhawan and end at the Post Office tri-crossing. The project is estimated to cost ₹75 crore

The ongoing Mahakumbh in Prayagraj has had a ripple effect in the temple town of Ayodhya with people in large numbers visiting the Ram Mandir to complete their pilgrimage, officials said.

Ayodhya, India January 23, 2024:::Devotees can see movning on the both side of Ram Path going for Ram Lalla Darshan in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh India on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. (Photo by Deepak Gupta/Hindustan Times)

To manage such crowd pressure in the future, the Ayodhya district administration has decided to construct a 2.5 km-long new corridor (pathway) that will take devotees to the Ram Mandir.

The Mahakumbh, which began on January 13, has led to unprecedented crowd turning up in Ayodhya every day with an average of around five lakh footfall.

As such, the arterial road of the temple town—the 13 km-long Ram Path—stays chock-a-block with pilgrims turning up in Ayodhya. On days of religious significance like such as Mauni Amavasya that fell on January 29 this year, the crowd swelled to such an extent that senior officials of the district administration themselved managed crowd movement.

Taking lessons from this situation, the Ayodhya administration has proposed the new corridor to divert crowd to Ram Mandir from Teri Bazar crossing.

Starting from Tedhi Bazar, the seven-meter-wide road will traverse through Asharfi Bhawan and end at the Post Office tri-crossing. The project is estimated to cost ₹75 crore.

The road behind Hanuman Garhi and Kanak Bhawan will also be used to streamline crowd movement.

According to divisional commissioner of Ayodhya Gaurav Dayal, work on the new corridor will start soon after getting approval from the state government.

“The new corridor will help ease crowd pressure in Ayodhya. From this corridor, pilgrims will be able to directly reach the Ram Mandir. The traffic of entire Ayodhya will not be affected,” said Dayal.

“The proposal has been sent to the state government and work will start after getting approval,” he added.

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₹75 crore project cost

The 7-metre-wide new corridor, which will start from Tedhi Bazar and culminate at Post Office tri-crossing through Asharfi BhaHT Correspondent wan, is expected to come up at ₹75 crore Box