As focus shifts to mandir, Ayodhya gets media centre

The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has sanctioned nearly Rs 1 crore for setting up of an international media centre in Ayodhya, acceding to a longstanding demand in a city which is among its key areas of focus. ET has seen a copy of the order issued by the UP government on December 14, sanctioning Rs 99.81 lakh for the project which envisages a new building with computers, LED televisions and rooms for accommodation for journalists. “Ram Mandir issue is now much in news. Journalists from abroad and from across the country come to Ayodhya for coverage of the issue and they are expected in bigger number this year,” Mahendra Tripathi, President of the Ayodhya Press Club, told ET. “We had given a proposal to CM Yogi Adityanath for setting up a media centre and it has been sanctioned as an ‘International Media Centre’ with a budget of Rs 1crore.”

He said the demand had been made since 1994 but successive chief ministers – Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav – ignored it. He said land for the project had been identified and construction is expected to begin on January 14. The Supreme Court will be hearing from January 4 the title suit for the land on which the temple of Lord Ram is proposed to be built.

“The air-conditioned building will have rooms for accommodating journalists who come for coverage of news, clean toilets, food, plus paraphilia such as computers, printers, internet and LEDs,” said Tripathi. “Journalists who come from abroad or Delhi faced trouble in getting accommodation due to lack of quality hotels in Ayodhya.”


The Ayodhya district magistrate will oversee the project while the Ayodhya Press Club will run the international media centre once it is ready, he said. Ayodhya has been a prime area of focus for the Adityanath government, which has renamed Faizabad district as Ayodhya and held the grand ‘Deepotsav’ in the city on the occasion of Diwali, attracting media attention.