Bengaluru: With a view to improving tourist prospects of Ayodhya, the temple city in Uttar Pradesh in which a grand temple for Lord Sri Ram is being built, the Union government has sanctioned Rs 250 crore for the construction of an international airport. This airport will play a phenomenal role in handling heavy tourist attendance. 

“All of you know that people of Indian origin or NRIs live in different countries in large numbers, and all of them desire to visit Ayodhya. Thus, the Uttar Pradesh government sent a proposal to the Government of India to develop the Ayodhya airstrip as an international airport,” UP CM Yogi Adityanath said, as quoted by Swarajya magazine. 

“The Government of India has given its approval to the proposal of Uttar Pradesh so that ATR-72 or likewise aircraft can be operated from there and has sanctioned Rs 250 crore for the same,” he noted. 

The airport is called Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram Airport. 

As per sources, the airport construction will end by December 2021. 

The Ayodhya title dispute: 

It was in November 2019 that the Supreme Court of India ruled that the disputed site in the temple city belongs to Hindus. 

The court also set up a trust to oversee the temple construction. At the same time, the court also granted 5 acres to Muslims for the construction of a mosque in the same temple city. 

It was in August last year that Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhumi pujan of the temple, signalling the beginning of the temple construction. 

The construction will take 36-40 months to be completed. 

A collection drive is also being undertaken to raise funds for the construction. News reports add that the trust overseeing the collection has till now collected more than Rs 1200 crores. The estimated cost stands at Rs 1100 crore.