Ayodhya (UP), Sep 23 (PTI) Traders and shopkeepers of Ayodhya kept their shops closed on Thursday to protest Uttar Pradesh government's proposed widening of roads in the temple town.

The project the traders protested against involves widening of the 13-km-long stretch from SaadatGanj, the entry point of Faizabad city, to Naya Ghaat on the banks of the river Saryu into four lanes.

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A local traders' union president, Nand Kumar Gupta, said that around 800 shopkeepers will be adversely affected by the project.

"Most of the local traders have shops along the main road of Ayodhya. They will be uprooted if the road is widened," he said.

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The local administration has booked Gupta under various criminal sections for allegedly running a unauthorised water purifying plant and for creating hurdles in the government's work.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)