Ram Temple to boost tourism in Sita's birthplace Janakpur

Janakpur [Nepal], Aug 12 (ANI): The construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is expected to spike tourism in Nepal's Janakpur- the birthplace of Sita, which became a part of the Ramayana Circuit when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in 2018, flagged off shuttle service between the birthplaces of Ram and His wife, Sita- major figures in Hinduism.
Devotees, coming to Ayodhya, would have Janakpur as one of the spots in their pilgrimage- boosting the economy of the region by giving more employment opportunities to the people of Nepal.
"As Janakpur is already included in Ramayana Circuit, the temple construction will attract more number of tourists here. After visiting the temple at Ayodhya people would like to visit the house of Mata Janaki. This will boost the tourism sector of our place," said Sushil Karna, a social activist from Janakpur.
"It is a matter of pride for Hindus around the world as a Ram Temple is being built in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram. Mata Sita, who is an icon for her devotion and virtues, the Ram temple construction is a matter of pride for us," he added.
According to Ramayana, Raja Janak of the Kingdom of Videha found a baby girl in a furrow in the Mithila region, a part of which is in the modern day's Janakpur city- 225 km south-east of Nepal's capital Kathmandu. He named her Sita and raised her as his daughter. Hence, the construction of Ram Mandir is a reason to rejoice for the people of Janakpur, who often consider themselves as in-laws of Lord Ram.
"Our Mata Janaki will now get a house in Ayodhya as the temple construction has begun there. We are extremely happy with the step undertaken by the Indian Government. Earlier, she didn't have any house or temple but now she will have one and it is the matter of extreme happiness and pleasure for people of Mithila (Janakpur)," Rishikesh Kumar, one of the priests at the Janaki Temple told ANI.
Ramayana Circuit is one of the 15 thematic circuits identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry initially identified 15 destinations for development under the Ramayana Circuit theme including Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar and Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik and Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu). (ANI)