Ayodhya aspires to become a tourist destination like Varanasi

Residents hope for construction of Ram Mandir and development beyond political debates

Dasaswamedh Ghat is one of the most popular ghats of Varanasi

In the serpentine lanes of Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya, the footage of the Babri Masjid demolition plays in a loop on televisions at small curios shops all the way up to the outer limits Ram Lalla temple, the disputed site of Ram Janmabhoomi. Made into a documentary of sorts, complete with background score and commentary, and titled 6 December: Ek Rakt Ranjit Itihas (“December 6: A blood-stained history”), it is one of the bestsellers here.

“I sell at least 50 of these CDs every day. Many people come from far to buy these,” said Arjun Kumar, a twenty-something who runs a small shop in the area.

Economics, apart from spirituality, is a major motivation here. For the 20,000 businessmen, workers and transporters in the area, livelihood depends on the god or gods in the temple. The construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya would allow the town to compete with Varanasi as an international tourist destination, they feel.

“Ram Mandir would not only benefit us spiritually but financially as well. Even after repeated attempts, we have not been able to make Ayodhya an international tourist destination. No foreign tourist comes here; they go to Varanasi for spiritual tourism. Ayodhya is historically equally rich but we have not been able to capitalise on it,” said Sunil Gupta, a senior member of Modi Sena, a volunteer group associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

His brother Nand Lal Gupta is the president of the shopkeepers’ association in the area and is helping out the BJP candidate Ved Prakash Gupta in the campaigning.

Residents of Ayodhya, 135 km east of state capital Lucknow, will cast their votes on February 27, during Phase V of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The results will be declared on March 11.

In the 2-km radius of the Hanumangarhi area of the town, there are around 1,000 shops. Of these, about 350 are devoted to devotional stuff, 200-odd are sweetmeat shops and the rest cloth stores and other miscellaneous outlets. No one owns a shop here as the ownership of all commercial establishment is with the four groups (pattis) of sadhus. Everyone pays rent, between Rs 70 and Rs 4,000 per month.

Till now, none of the political parties has done much to turn this place into a tourist destination, claim the businessmen. Many want the Ram Mandir complex to be a meaningful election agenda rather than mere rhetoric.

“The next chief minister has to do more for this area. Clean it up, promote the place just like they have done with Varanasi and use the money the state and the Centre have allocated for Ayodhya,” said Kaushal Tripathi, another businessman in the area.

Though a steady stream of people do come here daily, doing business is tough. From problems such as temple timings to fights with police and sadhus, and sanitation — all of it seems to have taken a toll on Ayodhya.

“Because of security reasons, the temple is open only for a few hours. People who come a little late are turned back. This is a major put off,” said Raghuvendra Tiwari, who has had a shop in the area since 2003. He added, “We have in the past asked for the timings to be increased, but no one listens to us. The other problem is the sanitation. It is dirty and there are no restrooms here. Other than people who are truly spiritual no one thinks of coming here. Foreigners who come here write on internet about the area being dirty. That keeps others away.”

On an average, according to Ayodhya’s municipal corporation, about 10,000 people come to the temple complex daily. The number swells to 25,000 on Tuesdays and around 150,000 during the four melas (fairs) that happen throughout the year.

According to the shopkeepers’ association, during these fairs, a cumulative revenue of Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore is generated daily. However, this goes down drastically on other days.

Even as the political contest for who would be the next chief minister of Uttar Pradesh continues, hopes are high around Hanumangarhi that the Ram Mandir would come up soon.

For some, it is more than about political affiliations. The 90-something chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, who has been taking care of temple since March of 1993, claims to be apolitical and hopes to see the temple built in his lifetime. “God willing, the construction would happen soon. I do not belong to any party. All I want is the construction of the temple,” he said.

Das had recently said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must get the temple built in his tenure. “Modi must visit Ayodhya, give us a guarantee and announce that that he will get the Ram temple constructed during his tenure,” he had said.