Lucknow/Mathura, Nov 5 (PTI) Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday promised to develop the Braj region as a heritage destination, accord Vrindavan A-grade municipal status and free temples from government control.
He announced these during a meeting with a delegation of the Goswami community of the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan.
The delegation, which met the former chief minister at the SP headquarters here, thanked him for the development work undertaken in Mathura and Vrindavan during his tenure as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, according to a statement issued by the party.
Yadav assured the delegation that Vrindavan would be given a new identity by blending its traditions with development.
"The Braj region will be developed as a heritage destination and temples will be freed from government control. Vrindavan will be accorded the status of an A-grade municipality," the SP chief said, according to the statement.
The meeting also discussed civic and infrastructure-related problems facing Vrindavan, including traffic congestion and the growing monkey menace, senior SP leader Ashok Agrawal told PTI.
"The two major problems of Vrindavan are traffic movement and monkeys. They snatch spectacles, mobile phones and purses of devotees. Several cases of monkey bites and serious injuries have also been reported in the past," Agrawal said.
He said the delegation also discussed the Sri Banke Bihari temple and other temples in the town, besides the possibility of setting up a separate A-grade municipal corporation for Vrindavan.
The erstwhile municipal corporations of Mathura and Vrindavan were merged in 2017 to form the Mathura-Vrindavan Nagar Nigam. Residents of Vrindavan have since been demanding that the town be separated from the merged civic body, Agrawal said.
The delegation also suggested developing the narrow lanes of Vrindavan, Govardhan Hill and other religious sites to give the entire Braj region an international identity.
Yadav assured them that if voted to power, his government would accord priority to development at every level, the party statement said.
The meeting comes amid a renewed political focus on Lord Krishna and the Braj region ahead of the 2027 UP assembly elections. The issue has also figured in the ongoing controversy over spiritual leader Dhirendra Shastri's remarks comparing Lord Krishna and Lord Ram.
Yadav has criticised the remarks, sought action against Shastri along with the cancellation of his upcoming programmes in UP.
