The recently constructed Ayodhya airport, to be known as Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhyadham, is prepared for its commercial opening. Officials from the government attested to the airport in the holy town being named for the epic writer Valmiki, who wrote “Ramayan.” Prior to the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple on January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will showcase the airport on December 30. The decision has been made by the administration to rename the train station as Ayodhya Dham. During his all-day visit to the holy town, which is being prepared for the consecration event, the PM will also open the renovated station.
On January 6, the new airport is scheduled to open for business. After the consecration event, airlines will offer flights that connect to major cities to accommodate the daily influx of guests to the Ram Temple. IndiGo and Air India Express will provide the inaugural flights on the day of the event. Since January 2024, the two airlines have already confirmed flights to Ayodhya from Delhi, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. An estimated Rs 1450 crore would be spent on the airport’s initial phase of construction. The 6500-square-meter new terminal building can handle up to 600 passengers during peak hours and can handle up to 10 lakh passengers annually. According to the sources, the second phase of expansion would involve the construction of a new terminal building that will occupy 50,000 square meters and have the capacity to accommodate 60 lakh people annually, in addition to 3,000 passengers during peak hours.
The terminal building’s interiors are embellished with regional artwork, including murals and paintings that illustrate Lord Ram’s life. Ayodhya airport’s terminal buildings are outfitted with a number of eco-friendly elements, including an LED lighting system, an insulated roofing system, rainwater collection, fountain-filled landscaping, and a water treatment plant.
Built in 1528 by Mir Baqi, the commander of Mughal emperor Babur, Babri Masjid was destroyed on December 6, 1992, by kar sevaks affiliated with Hindu majoritarian groups. The demolition, which was carried out as a result of a coordinated Ram Janambhoomi movement, sparked months of communal unrest that claimed over 2,000 lives. Since 1885, religious authorities and Hindutva groups have disputed the location of the Babri Masjid, believing it to be the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, or Ram Janambhoomi.
When Gopal Visharad Sharma petitioned the Faizabad district court in 1950 to be allowed to worship the Ram Lalla idols that had been installed there in 1949, a legal battle broke out. The High Court divided the contested area between the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara, and Ram Lalla in three ways on September 30, 2010, by a 2:1 majority. After nine years, in 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to provide Muslims with five acres of land so they could construct a mosque, and it gave the deity Ram Lalla the full 2.77 acres of contested ground.
