Chopper rides to temples, ‘Krishna’s path’, Vedic clock: Ujjain is focal point of MP religious tourism push under BJP govt

From launching helicopter services to ferry Hindu devotees to temples across the state and proposing over 500 projects worth Rs 18,000 crore to develop Ujjain, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is racing to establish the holy city as the focal point of the state’s Hindu religious tourism circuit ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, whose political turf is Ujjain, launched the two air services with a focus on religious corridors — PM Shri Tourism Air Service, with two twin-engine, eight-seater aircraft, and PM Shri Religious Tourism Helicopter Service, catering to devotees for the Mahakaleshwar and Mamleshwar (Omkareshwar) temples that are believed to contain sacred jyotirlingas.

Before that, on Monday, the office of the Department of Religious Trust and Endowment (Mukhyamantri Teerth Darshan Yojana) was moved from Bhopal to Ujjain.

In September last year, the state government unveiled a 108-foot-tall ‘Statue of Oneness’ of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar.

The Ujjain push has been sinceYadav was chosen unexpectedly by the BJP as the CM, after the party returned to power. Ujjain is a part of the politically significant Malwa-Nimar region in western MP, with 66 Assembly seats, and is considered a BJP stronghold.

Apart from the recent spree of projects, under the BJP government, the Simhastha festival in Ujjain, falling this year, has grown in form and size. Now, “523 projects worth Rs 18,804 crore that will span 19 departments” have been proposed, said a government official. “The MP government has already begun constructing a network of hotels and rest houses in Ujjain to host the massive crowds,” the official added.

With the Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration ceremony already seen as a