Bihar govt to develop 'Shiva Circuit' in state, will approach Centre for approval: Minister

Patna, Feb 25 (PTI) The Bihar government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that it would develop a ‘Shiva Circuit’ to boost religious tourism in the state.

Road Construction Minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal announced this during a calling attention motion in the House after several MLAs of NDA allies demanded better roads and connectivity to cities housing prominent temples of Lord Shiva.

"Keeping the demands of MLAs in mind, the government plans to develop a ‘Shiva Circuit’ in the state. Cities where famous temples of Lord Shiva are located will be connected with better roads and infrastructure facilities. This will certainly boost religious tourism in the state," Jaiswal said.

He urged legislators to submit a detailed list of prominent Shiva temples located in their respective constituencies.

"After receiving applications from MLAs, we will prepare a detailed route and plan to connect cities having famous Shiva temples with each other. It will be called the ‘Shiva Circuit’. After finalising the report, the state government will approach the central government for approval," the minister said.

The initiative will be on the lines of the Buddha Circuit and Ramayana Circuit, he added, stating that the objective is to preserve the historical and mythological heritage associated with Shiva temples.

The issue was raised by BJP MLA Mithilesh Tiwary, who said the proposed circuit should connect districts where major Shiva temples are located.

"The circuit should connect districts where Shiva temples are located. These include Simariya Dham in Madhubani, Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur, Baiju Dham in Gaya, Sonpur and Muzaffarpur," he said. PTI PKD MNB