The state government on Wednesday informed the state assembly that it would develop a “Shiva Circuit” to boost religious tourism in the state by connecting all religious temples and places associated with lord Shiva from ancient times with good roads across the state.
Road construction minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal announced this during a calling attention motion in the House after several MLAs of NDA allies demanded better roads and connectivity to cities housing prominent temples of Lord Shiva. The call attention was moved by JD(U) MLA Binay Kumar Chaudhary and others from other NDA allies including BJP, LJP(RV) and JD(U).
“Keeping the demands of MLAs in mind, the government plans to develop a ‘Shiva Circuit’ in the state. Cities where famous temples of Lord Shiva are located will be connected with better roads and infrastructure facilities. This will certainly boost religious tourism in the state,” Jaiswal said, while replying to the motion.
Jaiswal said that he would soon call a meeting with all legislators of constituencies where ancient temples of lord Shiva are located in Bihar and prepare a proposal for connecting these religious places with roads and better infrastructure. “We will send this proposal to the centre for approval and financial assistance to develop the Shiva circuit,” the minister said.
The initiative will be on the lines of the Buddha Circuit and Ramayana Circuit, he added, stating that the objective is to preserve the historical and mythological heritage associated with Shiva temples.
BJP MLA Mithilesh Tiwary said the proposed circuit should connect districts where major Shiva temples are located. “The circuit should connect districts where Shiva temples are located. These include Simariya Dham in Madhubani, Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur, Baiju Dham in Gaya, Sonpur and Muzaffarpur,” he said.
Binay Kumar Chaudhary and Upendra Prasad of the JD(U) too emphaised that conencting religious places associated with lord Shiva should be connected by good roads so that pilgrims can pay visit to such temples without much hassle.
In the call attention motion, the members had highlighted how prominent Shiva temples like Baba Garib Stan in Muzaffarpur should be connected to Sonepur while another road should come up from Kahalgaon and Bateshwarstan to Baiju Dham in Gurua for the pilgrims to travel easily especially during the month of Shravan when lakhs of devotees visit Shiva temples to offer prayers across the state.
