U.P. imposes a liquor-free zone around Ram temple
The Panch Kosi Parikarma path in Ayodhya has been designated a liquor-prohibited area by the Uttar Pradesh government, about three weeks before the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla at the Ram temple on January 22.
Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal said on Thursday that “the sale of liquor has been completely banned on the Panch Kosi Parikrama marg that runs around the Ram temple in Ayodhya.”
He said, “Officers have been instructed to remove alcohol stores from the Panch Kosi Parikrama route in order to create a liquor-free zone around the Ram temple.”
The state government had already outlawed the selling of alcohol in Mathura’s Krishna Janmabhoomi neighborhood in June 2021. Owners of liquor stores had their licenses revoked and their stores shut down. The state government designated a 10-square-kilometer portion of Mathura-Vrindavan as a pilgrimage site in September 2021 and prohibited the sale of meat and alcohol there.
Regarding Ayodhya, pilgrims go there each year to take part in the Panch Kosi, 14 Kosi, and 84 Kosi Parikarmas.
To ease pilgrim traffic, the state government has already authorized the expansion of the Panch Kosi and 14-Kosi Parikrama Marg. The 42 km long 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg encircles the temple town’s perimeter. Panch Kosi Parikrama Marg is limited to the city of Ayodhya.
Ayodhya, Basti, Ambedkar Nagar, Barabanki, and Gonda are the five districts that are traversed by the 240-kilometer 84-kosi parikrama marg (NH 227 B).
Along with the 84 Kosi, 14 Kosi, and Panch Kosi Parikrama Margs, the Ayodhya government has designated sacred sites for reconstruction, with ₹84.24 crore set aside for this purpose.
