Uttar Pradesh’s 4.0 foundation-laying ceremony seems to be a blessing in disguise for the pilgrim towns in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday will lay the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 1,000 crore, of which projects worth Rs 1,26,000 crore will be developed only in religious cities in UP including Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura and Other temple towns, large and small.

Prime Minister Modi will also conduct a “bhumi pujan” before laying the foundation stone for development projects that are expected to bring employment opportunities.

Uttar Pradesh government officials said Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura remain the most popular destinations for investors in the state. Out of these three projects, Mathura will complete the foundation stone work of projects worth Rs 13,486.63 crore. Its target is Rs 15,000 crore.

The birthplace of Lord Krishna is followed by Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, which will witness the launch of projects worth Rs 10,155.79 crore. Following the inauguration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, the city will attract huge investments in various sectors, including large-scale investments in hotels, resorts, etc.

Then there is Varanasi, the Prime Minister’s parliamentary constituency, where the Prime Minister will launch projects worth Rs 15,313.81 crore. A total of 124 investors will set up businesses in Varanasi, providing employment opportunities to more than 43,000 people.

In addition to the major religious sites mentioned earlier, Uttar Pradesh also plans to invest heavily in other religious sites. Projects worth Rs 86,000 crore will be implemented at eight religious sites, including Chitrakoot, the saint’s penance shrine; Kushinagar, the site of the nirvana of Gautama Buddha; and Tirtaraj · Prayagraj; Sitapur is famous for the Naimisharanya pilgrimage and Mirzapur is the land of Vindhyachal, a place of worship of the goddess.

These include projects worth Rs 1,152.38 crore to be launched in Kushinagar against a target of Rs 1,800 crore, and investment projects worth Rs 9,619.9 crore in Prayagraj. Besides, Chitrakoot will implement projects worth Rs 7,047.37 crore, while Sitapur will launch investment projects worth Rs 21,801.8 crore in the Naimisharanya pilgrimage area. Rs 7,358 crore will be invested in Mirzapur district, famous for Maa Vindhyavasini Dham. Mirzapur’s target was Rs 6,500 crore, but the actual target was Rs 7,358 crore.

With the ceremony, the Yogi Adityanath government is all set to kick off another phase of development in UP where a MoU worth Rs 100 crore covering 14,000 projects will be launched at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These projects are expected to create 3.35 million jobs in the state.

Around 3,500 investors and guests from India and abroad, including representatives of Fortune 500 companies, ambassadors and high commissioners, are expected to attend the event.