With Yogi Adityanath at the helm of the state, the Ardh Kumbh Mela in 2019 is bound to be bigger, better and different. The Chief Minister, known for his penchant for all things religious, has already started making sure that the 2019 event ends up as “historic and unique”.
The CM has not only allocated an additional Rs 510 crore for the Kumbh preparations, but has also made a series of visits to Allahabad and held meetings in Lucknow to prepare for the event.
Incidentally, chances are that Allahabad could be renamed as Prayagraj before the 2019 Kumbh Mela. A delegation of the Akhilesh Bhartiya Akhara Parishad met Yogi Adityanath two days ago and placed this demand which was accepted in principle by the CM. “The Chief Minister is taking keen personal interest in the event. He has asked officials to design an emblem a slogan for the event,” said a senior official in the CM’s office.
Yogi Adityanath has decided to set up a Prayagraj Mela Development Authority that will work as a nodal agency for all preparations for the event. This is being done to ensure a comprehensive supervision of the arrangements for the mega event.
The state government has also released Rs 290 crore to upgrade the Bamrauli airport in Allahabad before the 2019 Kumbh. A civil airport is being built next to the Bamrauli airport which is essentially an Air Force station. The state government is already preparing to launch state air services connecting cities like Lucknow with Allahabad, Varanasi and Agra. A bird sanctuary is also being planned in Allahabad to boost the tourist potential of the place. Yogi Adityanath has also ordered the upgradation and beautification of Shringverpur, a place of religious importance. The government has allotted Rs 32 crore for this.
UP minister Siddhartha Nath Singh, who is also an MLA from Allahabad, said that the state government’s request to Railways to come up with a rail over bridge (ROB) and flyover connecting Begum Bazaar locality with the airport has also been approved. He said that Railways has sanctioned Rs 110 crore for the two projects and the ROB and the flyover would be a four-lane road till the new civil airport. A government spokesman said that the CM wanted permanence for the work done for the Kumbh Mela. “The CM has made it clear that infrastructural facilities being set up for the event must last beyond the Kumbh Mela,” the spokesman said. It will cost the state government Rs 2500 crore and will be completed by October 2018.