LUCKNOW: The inauguration of Ram Mandir and the metamorphosis of the sleepy, non-descript temple town into a thronging pilgrimage spot have opened doors not only for the tourism industry but also for
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) which has logged Rs 1 lakh crore business till January end.
The Industry leaders believe it to be just the beginning. If 10 days of the Pran-Pratishtha of Ram Lalla in his final abode, have witnessed daily footfall of devotees in lakhs in Ayodhya making the prospects of tourism industry going to the moon, on the same tangent, the consecration has ushered the MSMEs, directly related to the temple, into a new era of economic prosperity reflecting an extraordinary upsurge in trade of goods related to puja and logging Rs 55,000 crore trade from January 1-January 26 and touching the trade figure of Rs 1 lakh crore by January end.
Ayodhya is set for a hectic industrial activity as hospitality sector thronging the temple town with a number of star hotels and resorts lined up for near future.
After the consecration, devotes from across the country are thronging Ayodhya in large numbers. As per the figures of the district administration, around two-three lakh devotees are taking darshan of Ram Lalla daily despite all the restrictions in force for crowd management in Ayodhya.
The number of devotees is likely to soar to 4-5 lakh daily with the let-up in weather conditions and sweeping cold wave. However, to cater to such a large number of visitors, the temple town is gearing up with a chains of hotels and resorts. Some projects already taking shape on the ground while others are in the pipeline.
According to the sources, the state tourism department has set a target of bringing around 145 hotels, resorts and guest houses on the ground in Ayodhya by the end of this year.
All these projects will be performing ‘Bhoomi-pujan’ (ground breaking) in February as the modalities including the land acquisition for such projects have been completed, say the sources.
These hospitality projects worth Rs 3500 crore and comprising 7500 rooms, will be equipped with upmarket five-star facilities. The construction of those facilities will create at least 10,000 jobs, says the tourism department sources.
“In the wake of the rising graph of spiritual and religious tourism in the state especially after the inauguration of Ram temple, the state government is encouraging the players of the hospitality industry to set up units in the districts adjoining Ayodhya to maximize the facilities for the devotees and tourists as their number is likely to increase in the days to come in Ayodhya,” says UP tourism minister Jaiveer Singh.
The minister claims that in 2023, Ayodhya got 5.76 crore devotees and Kashi Vishwanath Dham 8.55 crore. Till the consecration ceremony, around 700 registered home-stay were already there in the temple town and the number has gone up by 441 more after the approval by the district administration during the last 10 days. Even multinational hospitality chain Oyo has also started its services in Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, as per the figures provided by a recent report of Forum for Internet Retailers, Sellers & Traders (FIRST), Ram Mandir has proved to be trade multiplier pushing the temple related MSMEs to log an additional business of over Rs 55000 crore from January 1 to January 26, this year with projections of touching Rs 90,000 crore by January end.
The report also tracked the migration of over 170 artisans engaged in the manufacturing of Puja related goods, and 6000 plus MSMEs in retail, manufacturing and services to the temple town from other cities. Majority of those migrants are Ayodhya natives who return to their roots.
The report claims that there has been an increased online demand for products including Ram temple miniatures, lanterns, idols, stoles, scarves, shawls, diyas, flags besides the flowers, prasad, not only in India but from across the globe.
Temple town’s wealth multiplies
‘Navya Ayodhya’ is a blessing for the tourism sector as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Here’s how the temple town’s fortunes have changed:
Pilgrim count - Over 2L per day
Projected figures - 4L as weather sobers
Home-stays (till consecration) - 700 (registered)
Post-consecration - 1,141
Biz power
Rs 1 lakh-crore business by MSMEs in January alone
Hospitality projects with 7500 rooms worth Rs 3,500 crore
145 hotels, resorts & guest houses coming up this year
Number of MSMEs - 6000+
Job generation - 10,000
Artisans - 170 migrate to Ayodhya
