CURATED BY – UMESH KUSWAHA | CITYCHIEFNEWS

Satna, State Urban Development and Housing Minister and Minister-in-charge of Satna district Kailash Vijayvargiya said that religious tourism is growing very fast in the country. With the increase in tourism and pilgrimage, employment opportunities are available in that area and economic prosperity comes in the area. Minister-in-charge Mr. Vijayvargiya was addressing the discussion on the development work in progress and overall development of Chitrakoot in Udyamita Complex during his stay in Chitrakoot of Satna district on Monday. Minister of State for Urban Development Mrs. Pratima Bagri, MP Satna Ganesh Singh, MLA Surendra Singh Gaharwar, District President Satish Sharma, Vice Chancellor Chitrakoot Gramodaya University Prof. Bharat Mishra, Nagar Panchayat President Sadhana Patel, Principal Secretary of Deendayal Shodh Sansthan Atul Jain, Sitasharan Ji Maharaj, Collector Anurag Verma, Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Gupta, CEO District Panchayat Sanjana Jain, Additional Collector and CEO Chitrakoot Development Authority Swapnil Wankhade, SDM A.P. Dwivedi along with saints and sages of Chitrakoot, various volunteers, representatives of social organizations, dignitaries and officers of various departments of Satna district were present.

Minister-in-charge Kailash Vijayvargiya said that due to three-fold increase in tourism in Ujjain, per capita income has increased almost ten times. At the same time, due to increase in religious tourism in Ayodhya, about 18 crore devotees and tourists arrived in a year. Lord Shri Ram's exile period was spent in Chitrakoot. From religious and mythological point of view, there are immense possibilities of religious tourism in Chitrakoot. The Minister-in-charge said that where development takes place, the citizens there should be ready with a mindset for cooperation and sacrifice.

The Minister-in-Charge said that the state government is committed to the development of Chitrakoot and Rampathagaman. There will be no shortage of funds for the development of Chitrakoot. The government will spend whatever it takes. For development, the cooperation and consent of the people here is essential. An environment will also have to be created for this. The development of Chitrakoot means the overall development of the area including every citizen, priest, ashram temple here. He said that the plan for the development of Chitrakoot has been prepared. Any citizen, public representative can give their important suggestions on this proposal during this discussion.

The Minister-in-Charge Shri Vijayvargiya said that the work for the overall development of Chitrakoot will be given a concrete shape in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh government and various departments. During the development of Chitrakoot, the natural, traditional, cultural tradition, rural environment and culture should be maintained here. He said that the local residents of Chitrakoot should develop a mindset to give something to their city. With the positive thinking of 'mera ghar-mera angana', we will have to cooperate for our Chitrakoot in the development of Chitrakoot. He said that work will have to be done with great thought and consideration in the religious place Chitrakoot. Parking and road connectivity facilities will also be increased in religious places. With the efforts of all of you, we should be proud of the development of Chitrakoot in the coming times and it will become a world class city so that people from all over the world can come here and see the developed Chitrakoot.

MP Ganesh Singh said that in the 1990s, Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh came to Chitrakoot and gave the model of village development. The story of Chitrakoot's development started by keeping the reflection of holistic philosophy in Ramdarshan. The development of places of religious and mythological importance including Bharatghat, Sati Anusuiya, Pramodvan, Kamtanath, Sphatik Shila, Hanumandhara associated with various places of Chitrakoot during the exile of Lord Shri Ram should be done while maintaining the ancient culture, nature and belief. A large number of devotees from Ayodhya also visit Chitrakoot and Maihar. The state government has also formed an authority for the development of Chitrakoot and a trust for the development of Rampathagaman. The blue print outlined for the development of Chitrakoot includes the 84 Kosh Parikrama and the major sites of Ramvan Yatra. He said that 20 acres of land has been marked for the Ramayanam complex. Here the life story of Shri Ram can be displayed pictorially.
MLA Surendra Singh Gaharwar said that the quality of development and construction works of the religious city of Chitrakoot should be excellent. For this, the technical staff can be increased. There is a need to get the construction work done by an efficient and capable agency. The MLA said that the forest is the ornament of the earth. Dense tree plantation should be done on both sides from Rajola turn to Gupt Godavari and on the hilly roads. Pathways should be left on the main roads and space should be left for planting trees on the roadside. He said that it is also necessary to protect the government land from encroachment in Chitrakoot.