Ayodhya, UP

The holy city of Ayodhya in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is gearing up for the grand inauguration of the Ram Mandir.

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The railway station of the city is one of the many places undergoing a major revamp with features like refurbished platforms, new signboards, escalators, and lifts ready to be installed.

As per news agency ANI, murals of Lord Ram will also be painted on the walls of the station.

PM Modi is set to arrive in the temple town on Dec 30 ahead of the consecration ceremony scheduled to take place next month.

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"We are here for the first time. It seems we have arrived at an airport and not a railway station. This station not only has modern amenities but also a touch of Hindu mythology," news agency ANI quoted Purshottam, a tourist from Delhi as saying.

Ramnarayan Das Ji Maharaj, a visiting seer in Ayodhya, too, said that the remodelled and revamped railway station has the resources to extend top-class services to passengers and visitors.

"It looks gorgeous with a new design. Lord Ram, too, wished for the station to be revamped so well that devotees don't run into any problems visiting the grand temple for the consecration ceremony," he said.

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Swami Sai Prasad Saraswati, a visiting seer from Thiruvananthapuram, said, "Ayodhya is beautiful and people are arriving in the city in droves ahead of the consecration ceremony."

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Redevelopment carried out in two phases

The refurbishment is being carried out in two phases. The first phase is near finishing and will see the development of the platform areas.

Whereas the second phase will oversee the construction of the new station building equipped with more restrooms, dormitories, ticketing and circulating areas, among others. 

The district magistrate of Ayodhya, Nitish Kumar, released a statement saying that the railway station has a circulation capacity of about 50,000-60,000 people and work on the second phase will begin soon.

"We are carrying out the revamp of the railway station in a manner as to make it resemble the facade of Ram Temple. It would also reflect the historical significance of Ayodhya. While it would resemble a temple from the outside, it would be equipped with the latest technology for the ease of passengers. It already has a circulation capacity of 50,000-60,000 people and we are only into Phase 1 of the project. Work in the second phase will begin soon," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)