India, Nepal flag offs bus service between Janakpur and Ayodhya under Ramayan Circuit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated direct bus service between Janakpur (Nepal) and Ayodhya (India). Both are sacred cities for Hindus and bus service was launched as part of India’s Ramayan Circuit under Swadesh Darshan Scheme to promote religious tourism in Nepal and India.

Key Facts

The bus service was flagged off after PM Modi visited famed 20th century Janaki temple, dedicated to the Hindu goddess Sita, where he offered special prayers. Janakpur is known as birth place of Sita, the wife of Lord Rama. Janaki temple was built in memory of Sita in 1910. It is three-storey structure made entirely of stone and marble is 50-metre high and spread over 4,860 sq feet. This was overall third visit PM Modi to Nepal and first high-level visit from India side since the formation of the new Oli Government in Nepal.

15 destinations under Ramayan Circuit

The government has identified 15 destinations in India for development under Ramayana Circuit theme under Swadesh Darshan Scheme. They are Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar and Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Nashik and Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu).

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2018