E-carts to ferry devotees visiting Ayodhya to Temple

Ayodhya : Battery-operated carts will be made available for devotees visiting Ayodhya to offer prayers at the Ram temple and the Hanuman Garhi temple, officials said on Thursday.

The e-carts or golf carts will offer free rides to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women while the fare for others will be announced soon, they said. The 650 e-carts, to be deployed till March in the first phase, will be available at the parking lots across the city, Vice chairman of the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) Vishal Singh said. A ‘hyperloop model’ for connecting the entire Ayodhya is being prepared and the e-cart project is a part of it. In the near future, restrictions will be imposed on the entry of four-wheelers on the Ram Path, a significant thoroughfare in the heart of Ayodhya, and only e-carts will be allowed, Singh said.

Singh said a large number of devotees, including the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women, are expected to visit Ayodhya for a ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla after the consecration ceremony on January 22. For the devotees arriving in their vehicles, e-carts will be available at the parking area. Through these e-carts, devotees can visit the Ram temple, Hanuman Garhi temple and other religious sites in the vicinity, he said.

Wheelchairs will also be provided free of cost at the Ram temple for the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women, he added. The ADA has invited several corporate houses that had earlier expressed their desire to “serve” in Ayodhya to contribute to the e-cart project through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, Singh said.

After obtaining their approval, the plan will be implemented on a large scale, he said, adding substantial donations for the initiative have been received from the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, the Indian Oil Corporation, and Tata Projects.