The union ministry of tourism has approved in principle the Sree Narayana Guru Spiritual Tourism Circuit proposed by Kerala Tourism. The project will link all the places related to Sree Narayana Guru, the social reformer of Kerala. The Tourism Ministry has also sanctioned Rs 70 crore for the project by including it under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. However, Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the state government have asked for Rs 118 crore for the project.
Sree Narayana Guru was born in 1856 C.E. in the village of Chempazhanthi in Thiruvananthapuram. He is considered among the greatest social reformers and philosophers of Kerala and India. He led a reform movement in Kerala by rejecting the caste system and promoting new values of spiritual freedom, social equality and upliftment of the downtrodden.
Chempazhanthy- Guru’s birth place, conserved as historical monument
The project will now connect Chempazhanthy Sree Narayana Gurukulam, Aruvippuram, Aniyoor Sree Durgadevi temple, Koluthumkara Siva temple, Kunnumpara Subramanyaswami temple, Mannanthala Anandavaleeswaram Temple, Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial at Thonnakkal and Kayikkara, and Sivagiri Sree Narayana Guru Madhom.
The Chempazhanthy Sree Narayana Gurukulam will have facilities like modern eatery, dispensary, and parking facility. Similarly, the facilities like convention center, prayer mandir, yoga center, tourist facilitation center, pavements, rainwater harvesting facilities, solar plant. The state government has plans to construct a modern convention center also.
“The project report will be submitted to the Central Ministry within a week,” said the state tourism minister. “With the Guru circuit becoming operational, the conservation and development of historically important places along the route will become a reality,” he added.
Aruvippuram Temple
The pilgrimage circuit which begins from Aruvikkara to Sivagiri will have the main events in the life of Guru marked on the places they happened. A light and sound show facility at Sivagiri, open theatre, tourist facilitation centre, eatery, which can accommodate up to 2,000 people, healthcare center, medicinal plant garden, water storage facility, rainwater harvesting facility, parking facilities, solar power plan, battery-run vehicles, rest places etc. will be arranged as part of the project.
Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala
At Aruvippuram, a museum complex will come up. There will be facilities like art gallery, multimedia services, research center and library in the complex. The conservation of caves at Aruvippuram, Dasapushpam park, first aid facilities, stone paved pavements and yoga center on top of the hill will also be developed as part of the project.
