Ayodhya: An Ancient Pilgrim City Being Rebuilt As A Global Spiritual–Smart Hub

From sacred city to smart city, Ayodhya is in the middle of one of India’s most ambitious urban transformations. Under the Yogi Adityanath government’s vision, the ancient capital of the Suryavansh is being reimagined as a global spiritual and tourism hub, with connectivity, heritage conservation, clean infrastructure and tech-enabled governance forming the core pillars of change.

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Accessible Ayodhya

The first pillar is Accessible Ayodhya. Spread across nearly 821 acres, the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport features a 2,200-meter runway and advanced navigation systems, enabling it to accommodate large aircraft. Expansion work is already in progress, further strengthening air connectivity for millions of devotees and visitors.

The Ayodhya Dham Railway Station has similarly undergone a complete transformation. Now developed as a modern G+2 terminal with six platforms and a capacity of nearly 50,000 passengers, the station also hosts premium services such as Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains. Within the city, major projects including Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Path, and the four-lane Dharam Path have enhanced accessibility and the overall travel experience, from Sahadatganj to Nayaghat and from Lata Mangeshkar Chowk to the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway. Features such as widened roads, underground utility ducts, bus bays, footpaths, vintage-style lighting, and Ramayana-themed murals have further enriched the urban landscape.

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Modern Ayodhya

If mobility is one axis, modern urban governance is another. “Modern Ayodhya” is anchored in a GIS-based Master Plan 2031 for around 133 sq km, linked to online building permissions, and a smart traffic regime under the Integrated Traffic Management System with red-light violation detection and adaptive signals at 22 junctions. Public address systems in the municipal area and WiFi zones at Hanumangarhi, Naya Ghat, the railway station and Guptar Ghat seek to blend safety, information and digital ease into the pilgrim experience. A metaverse-based digital pilgrimage project using AR/VR aims to offer a virtual Ramayana narrative and Ayodhya darshan through an experience centre on PPP mode, signalling how even a deeply traditional tirtha is embracing immersive technology.

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Clean Ayodhya

Clean Ayodhya is the third facet. The city is augmenting sewage treatment at Ramghat with an additional 6 MLD capacity, strengthening drainage and water supply in 181 lanes across 15 wards, and constructing new roads with proper stormwater channels. Five public toilet and utility complexes, animal birth control for stray dogs and cattle, and 10 revamped traditional cremation chambers, along with two new electric and two green cremation units, show the attempt to align faith practices with environmental safeguards.

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Beautiful Ayodhya

Urban aesthetics form the fourth strand, “Beautiful Ayodhya”. Guptar Ghat has been upgraded with a 24-metre-wide access road, parking, kiosks and leisure spaces, while Ram ki Paidi and Naya Ghat have undergone extensive beautification with stone canopies, tall pillars and interpretation walls along the Saryu. Across the city, illuminated Ayodhya logos, corten-steel sculptures of divine vahanas on the riverfront, façade lighting at Dashrath Mahal and Suryakund, and an expanding Miyawaki-style green cover with around 15,000 saplings at 75 locations are recasting the visual identity of the pilgrim town.

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Cultural Ayodhya

Equally central is Ayodhya’s cultural and spiritual layering. “Cultural Ayodhya” includes restoration of selected historic sites through surface improvements, murals and artworks, and the Ram Heritage Walk, which has created 162 Ramayana-themed murals on 81 walls. Dharm Path’s grand gateway, a Ramayana-themed mirror maze, the beautification of Queen Ho (Hiyo) Memorial Park symbolising Indo-Korean ties, the upgradation of Ramkatha Park and the elevation of Ayodhya Research Institute into an international Ramayana and Vedic research centre together frame the city as a live museum of civilisational memory.

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Spiritual Ayodhya

“Spiritual Ayodhya” builds on pilgrim routes rather than replacing them. Facilities are being developed at 24 key points on the Panchkosi and Chaudah Kosi parikramas, including rest houses, toilets, drinking water and food stalls, even as the longer 84 Kosi parikrama route has been notified as a national highway. Eight major kunds linked to this route, such as Dashrath Samadhi, Bharatkund and Janamejaya Kund, are being developed to deepen both devotional practice and spiritual tourism. Conservation of the Sant Ravidas temple complex underscores an effort at social inclusion within the religious landscape.

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Capable Ayodhya

Two further pillars speak to capability and care. Under “Capable Ayodhya”, new inspection suites and meeting halls on NH-28, renewal of 49 schools, reconstruction of four composite schools and establishment of an ITI, along with a large multi-level parking and commercial complex at Arundhati, aim to provide administrative, educational and commercial backbone to a growing city.

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Ayushman Ayodhya

Finally, “Ayushman Ayodhya” focuses on health: a new academic and OPD block at the Government Ayurvedic Hospital, the setting up of Rajarshi Dashrath Autonomous Medical College, a 100-bed hospital at Kumarganj and a 50-bed facility at Milkipur are intended to serve both residents and the swelling number of visitors.

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Conclusion

As Ayodhya prepares for a future of relentless tourist inflows and digital immersion, the eight-facet framework—accessible, modern, clean, beautiful, cultural, spiritual, capable and healthy—offers a template for how an ancient tirtha can attempt to protect its soul while reinventing its structure.