Ayodhya:Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in a festooned, festive Ayodhya on Saturday to unveil a ‘new look old’ city with an airport, a revamped train station and projects worth Rs 15,700 crore ahead of the consecration of the Ram temple next month, his day an artful blend of heritage, culture and development.

The flower-bedecked temple town, associated with the Ramayana for centuries and at the centrestage of modern day politics since the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, was the cynosure of attention as Modi said the strength of ‘vikas’ (development) and ‘virasat’ (heritage) would take India forward.

“The whole world is waiting for the historic moment of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22,” Modi said at a rally here while appealing to people to not come on the day itself.

Press Trust of India