UP government to develop holy places of all faiths: CM Yogi Adityanath

Sitapur: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said his government will develop places of religious importance of all faiths and communities without any bias.

After celebrating Diwali in Ayodhya this year, the government announced that Holi will be celebrated in a grand manner in Braj, a region around Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh.

"With the Holi of Barsana, we will connect the world," he said.

Adityanath said that culture is the soul of the country and it is our duty to further strengthen it.

"We have decided that places of religious importance of all faiths and communities will be developed for serving culture and also giving a platform for encouraging tourism...I believe those who have to oppose will do so," he said.

Adityanath was speaking at a programme jointly organised by the Uttar Pradesh Tourism department and Sanskar Bharti, an NGO.

He said festivals should be made a medium of uniting society as they depict collective bond but people have forgotten it and this needed to be revived.

Making a mention of the Kanwar yatra, he said that he got the official orders banning use of shankh, ghanta and mike, cancelled.

"I took the responsibility and convened a meeting with officials of Uttarakhand, Haryana and Delhi. Four crore kawariyas went to Haridwar from Ghaziabad and it was proved that festivals can be celebrated peacefully," he said.

He said that a Rs 100 crore plan was being prepared for the development of pilgrim areas in Naimisaranya in Sitapur district and its adjoining areas at the banks of Gomti river.