It was the second week of January and Ayodhya was in a race against time. The government machinery and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, a trust set up for the construction and management of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, was leaving no stone unturned to transform the once quiet town of temples, dharamshalas, as well as of Buddhist, Jain, and Muslim sites into what is being described as India’s “cultural capital”. Elaborate arrangements were under way amid a feverish religious fervour, with barely any corner left untouched by demolition, construction, or renovation. The city’s heartbeat seemed to be keeping time to temple bells, loudspeakers blaring bhajans, and the cacophony of stone cutters, earth movers, and road rollers.
The finished temple, fashioned of Makrana marble in the Nagara style on a built-up area of 57,400 square feet, will have three floors, each floor 20 feet high. For the inauguration, it was the ground floor, the compound, and the gardens around it that were being given final touches. Statues of elephants, lions, and gods, made of sandstone from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur, were being installed along the pathway leading to the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple, the site of the pran pratishtha or inauguration ceremony. A 51-inch idol of a five-year-old Ram, sculpted in dark stone, is the garbhagriha icon.
Having missed the December deadline, the Uttar Pradesh government’s Rajkiya Nirman Nigam was struggling to complete two giant stone pillars, costing an estimated Rs. 11 crore, for the entrance to the temple site, which measures 2.7 acres (1.09 hectares). From this gate to the Janamsthali, the site of the Ram Mandir, huge pink sandstone sheets with intricate artwork have been fixed on iron frames along both sides of the pathway. The opulence and grandeur of the site could pass off as a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film set.
City getting a faceliftSoon after a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in 2019, permitted the construction of a Ram temple at the site of the 16th century mosque, the agricultural fields in and around Ayodhya have been growing concrete buildings. The city is sprouting new roads, roundabouts, and gardens. Thousands of houses and shops along Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Dharm Path, and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Path have been fully or partially demolished, redesigned, and painted over in light peach colour.
The BJP-led State and Central governments, which have branded the event as the culmination of 500 years of waiting, have said they will make Ayodhya a pilgrimage metropolis. As per an Uttar Pradesh government advertisement, it has spent more than Rs. 31,000 crore on 178 developmental projects in Ayodhya and plans to spend Rs. 85,000 crore in the next 10 years to make Ayodhya the “world’s best city”. Saffron flags bearing images of Ram, Hanuman, and the grand temple on display along Ram Path in Ayodhya on January 12. | Photo Credit: Kunal Dutt/PTI A state-of-the-art airport, Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, budgeted at Rs. 1,450 crore, and a redeveloped Ayodhya Dham railway station have been inaugurated. The hospitality industry has exploded, with both five-star brands such as the Taj, Radisson, and ITC, and budget players such as OYO rushing in to set up hotels.
Other temples are trying to cash in with homestay experiences. One such is the ancient temple of Teen Kalash at Naya Ghat. Its chief priest is BJP leader and Ayodhya Mayor Mahant Girish Pati Tripathi. The construction of “Raghav Inn” is in full swing on the premises of the grand old temple.
Also Read | What about Ayodhya’s mosque?“At least 100 chartered planes will land in Ayodhya airport on January 22. Alongside religious faith, it will bolster economic growth,” Chief Minister Adityanath told reporters recently. A senior journalist from Uttar Pradesh, Indu Bhushan Pandey, told Frontline, “Aisa lagta hai Ayodhya dharmik ke saath saath dhan-dharmik zyada ho gai hai” (It seems that more than a religious capital, Ayodhya has become a business capital).The cost of the new temple is estimated at Rs.18,000 crore. According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), the consecration ceremony will generate business worth Rs.1 lakh crore across the country. The Teerth Kshetra trust has urged devotees to stop sending gold and silver after having received quintals of the precious metals since 2019.
People’s lamentA recent viral video showed the general secretary of the temple trust and senior VHP functionary, Champat Rai, admonishing a devotee who brought a thousand silver roses as offering. “What do you want me to do with them? Shall I sell them? This is Ayodhya, here people slit your throat and rob your money.” Rai continues: “We have gold-plated the temple doors. Each door is worth Rs.60 crore. Now, who will guard them? I’ve already said they will cut the priest’s neck…” His comments inadvertently pointed to the economic distress in Ayodhya, where headlines are invariably about thefts in the temples. The golden doors of the Ram temple on January 11. Thirteen such doors, each 12 feet high and 8 feet wide, will be installed on the upper floor of the sanctum sanctorum. A total of 46 doors will be installed in the Ram temple, out of which 42 will be coated with 100 kilograms of gold. | Photo Credit: ANI Even as people pin hopes on Ayodhya transforming into an economic powerhouse, many young men lament that the upcoming businesses are owned and run by non-locals. As always, those who have been …
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