Chitrakooot pilgrimage area a free-traffic zone now

Lucknow: Now, the Chitrakoot pilgrimage and tourist area falling in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh has become a ‘free-traffic zone’, following a bi-partite agreement between the two states. The development came through the 23rd meeting of the Central Zonal Council of four states--Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chattishagarh held in Bhopal early this week.

“The UP government had notified last year about making the area free of traffic for vehicles entering from the borders and now the MP government has notified it for the areas falling in its jurisdiction,” said a UP government spokesperson.

This means that vehicles entering UP from MP and those entering the MP area from UP will not have to pay the passenger tax at the borders.

Chitrakoot is considered the holy land where Lord Ram, with his wife Sita and brother Laxman, had spent most of his exile (about 11 years of the total 14) and is situated on the Vindhya hills.

A part of Chitrakoot’s pilgrimage and tourist area falls in UP’s Chitrakoot district while the other part falls in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district.

Chitrakoot has several tourist spots, such as Gupt Godavari, Kamadgiri Parvat, Bharatkup, Ganeshbagh, Sati Anusuiya Ashram, Rajapur, Dharkudi, Jankikund, Ramghat and Bharat Milap Temple and Chitrakoot waterfall, Hanuman stream and Sphatik Shila, which are reminiscent of Lord Ram’s visit with his brother Lakshman and wife Sita.

Other than a major religious tourism spot, Chitrakoot is a prominent nature tourism destination--especially a monsoon destination.

Uttar Pradesh government, in its bid to increase tourism and pilgrims inflow in Chitrakoot, had been angling for the past few years to make the area (of both states) a free-traffic zone for ease of tourists. It had several rounds of negotiations with the MP government over the issue and the issue was resolved ahead of the 23rd meeting of the Central Zonal Council of four states--Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chattishagarh in which the CMs of the four states participated. Union home minister Amit Shah chaired it. The council is for inter-state coordination.

The seers of Chitrakoot had long been demanding the end of the tax.

The UP government spokesperson said that the tourist and pilgrim inflow in the religious spot was set to shoot up with the end of the tax, combined with the airport at Chitrakoot. The first table-top airport of the state constructed at the cost of ₹146 crore is ready and would soon be operational. The spokesperson said that after acquiring the licence from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), a 20-seater aircraft would also start flying from here under the UDAN scheme.

The ropeway at Chitrakoot has also been the centre of attraction and transport for tourists since September 2019.

A table-top runway is a runway that is located on the top of a hill or a plateau, with both or one of its ends adjacent to a steep precipice that drops into a deep gorge.

Also, the Shree Chitrakoot Dham Teerth Development Council has been entrusted with the responsibility to ensure holistic development, including enriching the natural surroundings further, while conserving the rich heritage of the pilgrimage destination. The Council has completed work on the laser show on the water screen and the digital Ramayana gallery at a cost of ₹5.29 crore.