Union Home Minister Amit Shah will lay the foundation stone of Rs 150 crore Vindhyachal Corridor Project (VCP) in Mirzapur on Sunday afternoon.

He will also inaugurate a ropeway costing Rs 16 crore in Vindhyachal.

The Vindhyachal Corridor project is being built on the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor project in Varanasi.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will accompany the Union Home Minister.

Divisional Commissioner Mirzapur, Yogeshwar Ram Mishra, said, “The Union Home Minister and Chief Minister will land at Devri airport around 2.40 p.m. From the helipad, they will go to Vindhyachal temple. After offering prayers at the temple, they will perform the rituals of ‘bhumi pujan’. They will then reach the Government Inter College ground to address a public meeting following inauguration of the ropeway for Vindhya circle and laying of foundation stone of other projects.”

According to Mishra, the construction part of Rs 150 crore Vindhyachal Corridor Project will be started immediately after the ‘bhumi pujan’, as removal of identified 92 buildings, which were surrounding the Vindhyachal temple, has already been done after their purchase.

The project will result in creation of space for 50-ft-wide Parikrama route while visitors will get a full view of the holy shrine, known as one of Shaktipeeths.

The roads leading to the temple are also being widened as a part of the project.

Improvement of basic infrastructure and introducing modern facilities, including parking zones, guest houses, shopping complexes, retiring rooms for pilgrims, are also proposed.

Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath will also inaugurate the first ropeway of east UP, for thousands of pilgrims who flock Ashtabhuja and Kali Khoh hills of holy Trikon (triangle) of Vindhyachal.

The ropeway, which will be first in east UP, will be started in two phases as the only one ropeway line connecting Kali Khoh and Ashtabhuja project is in finishing state.

The second line from Ashtabhuja to the terminal (parking site) is still under construction and expected to be completed by December end.

UP tourism joint director (Varanasi) Avinash Mishra said, “Under Rs 16 crore ropeway project, a 199-metre first line ropeway linking Kali Khoh and Ashtabhuja and other the 102-metre second line, which will take visitors from Ashtabhuja hill to terminal (parking point), has been created. Being initiated on a public private partnership (PPP) model, this project will enable visitors to enjoy the beauty of the forest area between two hills from the height of over 260 metres.”

The Union Home Minister is also expected to visit former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh who is hospitalised in Lucknow.

Before proceeding to Mirzapur, the Union Home Minister will also lay the foundation of the state’s first-of-its-kind forensic institute in Lucknow on Sunday.

According to UP DGP, Mukul Goel, the institute will be affiliated to the Gujarat based National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) and will function under the ministry of home affairs.

Spread over 50 acres in Piparsand locality of Sarojini Nagar, the institute has been named Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science (UPSIFS).

The institute will offer studies in the field of police administration and forensic science. A Centre of Excellence is being set up by NFSU to provide modern infrastructure and technology in scientific crime investigation, which will be a separate unit on 5-acre land on the campus.

“The idea to set up an institution, which will not only produce world-class forensic experts, but also have our own centre of excellence to carry out research in crime investigation, cyber security, behavioural sciences and criminology,” the DGP said.

To improve policing in Uttar Pradesh, an MoU was inked between Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science and APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University in May this year to introduce artificial intelligence and its applications in digital forensics.