Govt plans Ram Van Gaman Marg, a 210-km highway to trace a mythological journey

The Centre is planning to build a modern highway that will follow the mythological route taken by Lord Ram during his 14-year exile as depicted in Ramayana. The 210-km Ram Van Gaman Marg in Uttar Pradesh will be one of the first such highways to come up in the country.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has shared a document that says, the Ram Van Gaman Marg is a project that seeks to retrace the route believed to have been taken by Lord Ram on his way to exile with Sita and Lakshman.

"The proposed 210 km long Ram Van Gaman Marg connects Ayodhya to Chitrakoot via Faizabad, Sultanpur, Pratapgarh, Jethwara, Shringverpur, Manjhanpur and Rajapur in Uttar Pradesh," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways document says.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had earlier said that project reports for a 121-km Ram Van Gaman Marg extension were being prepared as part of 4,080 km projects at a cost of ₹35,000 crore under Bharatmala Pariyojna. This will also include the famous Sharda Shaktipeet (Maihar temple).

The first phase of the Ram Van Gaman Marg project will include these eight places in Uttar Pradesh falling on the forest route taken by Lord Ram, and will be developed as tourist destinations at a cost of ₹137.45 crore.

According to the ministry, the new highway will pass through other national highways like NH-28, NH-96, NH-731A as well as a greenfield highway with bridge at river Ganga at Shrinverpur. A 38-km stretch of this highway is in Chitrakoot district in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had earlier sought help and guidance from Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari for the development of Ram Van Gaman Path in his state last year. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too had said that a dedicated fund will be constituted for people to contribute towards the development of his government's ambitious Ram Van Gaman tourism circuit project in the state.