Guj to give Rs 5,000 aid to tribals for taking Ram Janmabhoomi pilgrimage

The BJP government in Gujarat has decided to offer financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per person from the state's tribal community for pilgrimage to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya, Tourism and Pilgrimage Development Minister Purnesh Modi said.

Addressing a gathering in the Shabari Dham -- a pilgrim site in Gujarat's Dangs district associated with Lord Sri Ram -- on the occasion of Dussehra on Friday, Modi also said that henceforth the state-level 'Dussehra Mahotsav' will be organised every year at different places of pilgrimage associated with Lord Ram in Gujarat.

He said the tribal pilgrims will be given financial assistance of Rs 5,000 per person for pilgrimage to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi.

The state-level Dussehra Mahotsav programme at Shabari Dham featured various tribal dance forms of Gujarat.

Modi also said the Gujarat government is working to develop a tourism circuit between Saputara in the Dangs district and the 'Statue of Unity' at Kevadia in the Narmada district, connecting tribal areas of the eastern part of Gujarat.

Modi, who also holds the portfolio of the Roads and Buildings Department in the Bhupendra Patel government, said the celebration of the Dussehra festival, especially in tribal areas, would highlight the cultural and historical heritage of such areas.

Notably, the assembly elections are due in Gujarat in December next year.

Ram Janmabhoomi is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust, which was set up after the Supreme Court verdict in November 2019, is entrusted with the task of constructing a temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.

Speaking on the occasion on Friday, Valsad MP KC Patel said Narendra Modi government has ensured the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and the Union and Uttar Pradesh governments are working together for the development of that area.

In a surprise move, which is seen as an effort by the ruling BJP to blunt anti-incumbency ahead of the assembly elections, the entire cabinet in Gujarat was replaced with new faces in September with the resignation of the chief minister Vijay Rupani, who was replaced with Bhupendra Patel.