Lucknow, Jan 26 (IANS): The Indian national flag will be hoisted on Africa’s highest mountain peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, located in Tanzania on Friday by Virendra Sisodia, a retired army man and a mountaineer from Lucknow, on the initiative of the Uttar Pradesh tourism department.

Uttar Pradesh tourism and culture minister Jaiveer Singh said, “The campaign to hoist the national flag on Africa’s highest peak was launched on the day of consecration of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya.”

“On January 26, when the President will be hoisting the Indian Tricolour on Kartavya Path in Delhi, about five and a half thousand kilometres away, the Indian national flag and the flag of Prabhu Shri Ram Temple will be hoisted on Mount Kilimanjaro,” he said.

“Our effort is to develop Uttar Pradesh as the most attractive tourist destination in the world. After the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla, lakhs of people are visiting Ayodhya,” he pointed out. The large flow of pilgrims and tourists will not only boost the economy of the region but also put Ayodhya on the global tourism map,” he added.