Ayodhya: As the holy city gears up for the opening of the Ram temple in January, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Thursday held its meeting here and approved several proposals which included building a temple museum. The cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also decided to hold the Winter session of the state assembly from November 28.
In a break from the usual practice, Adityanath himself addressed the media about the proposals approved in the cabinet meeting. Standing before a banner that had pictures of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman, the chief minister said," A total of 14 proposals were put forward in the cabinet meeting and were approved."
Adityanath and his cabinet colleagues were also wearing yellow 'gamchha' (scarves) with "Sri Sita Ram" written on it. Ahead of the meeting that was held at the Ramkatha Mandap (auditorium) located on the banks of the Saryu river, the chief minister along with his cabinet ministers offered prayers at Hanuman Garhi and the Ram temple.
The CM said that the cabinet gave its nod to the proposal to set up Uttar Pradesh Inland Waterways Authority that will explore water bodies in the state for transport opportunities. "The Authority will work to improve transport and trade using waterways and make the state an important exporting hub," he said. The cabinet also approved a proposal for formation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Vikas Parishad in Ayodhya. Along with this, a proposal to allocate 25 acre of land in Manjha Jamthara here was also given a green signal for a temple museum.
According to government officials, the main objective behind the temple museum is to develop awareness among the younger generation about the Hindu religion. The museum will have different galleries showcasing various aspects of a temple like its design, construction, etc. The cabinet also okayed the development of Ayodhya Research Institute as International Ramayana Vedic Research Institute.
The cabinet also decided to form Maa Pateshwari Devipatan Development Council that will take care of the development of the Devipatan Division located along the Indo-Nepal border. The proposal for the formation of Shukarteerath Vikas Parishad for development of Shukratal in Muzaffarnagar was also approved.
It is believed that at Shukratal, Sukadeva Goswami narrated the sacred Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana) to Maharaja Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu, about 5,000 years ago. This is one of the famous holy destinations in north India. The cabinet also approved the implementation of the Drone Policy in the state. "Under the policy, it will be mandatory to get drones registered with the nearby police station," said the CM.
"The proposal to hold the Winter session from November 28 was also approved by the cabinet," he added. Besides, a proposal to provincialise "Dauji Lakhi fair" in Hathras, all prominent fairs of Ayodhya, Ganga Mela in Bulandshahr and Dev Diwali event in Varanasi were also approved. The cabinet also passed a proposal to set up plants at district level with the help of women self-help groups to provide food security to women and young children by providing them nutritious food products. A cabinet meeting outside Lucknow -- a rare event -- was held for the first time in Prayagraj in January, 2019.
