Buddhist, Char Dham circuits to see Rs 20,000-cr investment in highways

Of the total estimated investment, Rs 11,700 cr alone would be spent on the construction of all weather roads connecting Chardham that includes four holy shrines of Hindus

The government plans to invest Rs 20,000 crore in upgrading and building the national highway network around Char Dham and Buddhist circuits. While the plan has faced small hiccups like termination of contract for the 149-km Kannauj-Kanpur stretch of the Buddhist circuit, the two circuits together cover three states and also parts of Nepal.

Of the total investment, Rs 11,700 crore alone would be spent on the construction of all-weather roads connecting Char Dham that includes four holy shrines of Hindus – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttarakhand - according to an official release. Kedarnath is dedicated to Hindu God Shiva and Badrinath to Vishnu. Gangotri and Yamunotri are the source of Ganga and Yamuna, respectively, which are revered by the Hindus.

The investment for constructing the 889-km long Char Dham route includes civil construction, land acquisition and forest clearance.

Another important religious circuit for the domestic as well as international tourist is the Buddhist circuit covering Vaishali, Patna, Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Kahalgaon and Vikramshila in Bihar. The Buddhist circuit includes the holy sites of Buddhism where Lord Buddha was born, attained Enlightenment, preached the first sermon and reached nirvana.  Lumbini (Nepal), Bodhgaya (Bihar), and Sarnath and Kushinagar (Uttar Pradesh) are places of importance for Buddhists.

The national highways connecting these cities are under various stages of construction.

These highways will cut across various important cities across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, thereby improving and upgrading the business activity and overall tourism in these states. The work for the Patna-Bodh Gaya highway, foundation stone for which was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August last year, is in progress.

Another highway connecting Patna to Vaishali via Manjhi, Chapra, Hajipur is likely to be completed by this month-end. However, the 149-km long two-lane stretch connecting Kannauj to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh is being restructured for widening to four-lane and the detailed project report for the same is underway. The contract was earlier terminated due to the operator’s default.
 

Highway to divinity

* Road Ministry to develop religious circuit at about Rs 20,000 crore investment
 

* Religious circuit includes Chardham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand, Buddhist holy sites in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
 

* Construction cost for 889-km long Chardham pilgrimage approximately Rs 11,700 crore
 

* Construction of Buddhist circuit to extend till Nepal
 

* Buddhist circuit to cut across major cities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh
 

* Hurdles at some stretches due to contract termination