From Vivad To Vikas Through Vinash: How Ayodhya Is Coping With The Unmaking Of The City That Stayed Put For Decades

‘Will Ram Lalla forgive those who are bringing about this destruction?” asks Kanhaiya Gupta, a sweetmeat vendor at the base of the Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya, even as he packed boxes of ghee made sweets for tourists to offer at the temple. His is among the various shops that will have to ’move from where they have been for decades’ as the city goes in for a complete overhaul.

"The judgement made us very happy, but we are very upset with some decisions of the govt. We are being evicted and our shops taken down for the development of Ayodhya but we aren’t being relocated. They are only giving us compensation," he complains. It is our plea to PM Modi that our interests be addressed, says Gupta, even as he agrees that compensation money has been offered.

His is one section of shopkeepers, mostly those who set up semi-permanent structures and have been paying dismissible amounts often in three digits to the owners of the land or shops for decades. These lands and shops are often owned either by the countless temples around or by the priests and Mahants who have leased out the land for generations.

As we mentioned in an earlier story of this series, youngsters who have an understanding of the blueprint of change are glad to give up their source of earning in the hope that ‘better days are on the way’ and that the ‘destruction is a means to that end’.

Tea vendor Brij Lal Yadav is among the many who are counting days for their means of earning to be razed to the ground. But he isn't complaining, for he says, his shop, a temporary tinned structure, is too small a price to be paying for the 'bhavya mandir' that is finally being made. "And so is development. Everything is changing for the good… Ram paidi bani hai, Sarayu ghat Bana hai… Vikas hua yahaan, aur ho raha hai,” says Yadav.

And the shop and land owners are definitely happy, even if they have had to let go many of their shops, that Ayodhya will finally get a facelift.

Shri Narayan Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya Principal Mahant Ram Bhadra Das, who also has various shops in the city explains that the destruction that a few are complaining of is ‘natural’.

“Any field that is to bear fruit should first be ploughed. Similarly, this evacuation is key to the improvement of Ayodhya. My shops, around 18 of them, will be razed but I am giving them up joyfully. Loss will be there but this is a sacrifice we will have to make for the future of Ayodhya,” says Das, elaborating on the desperate need for basic infrastructure in the city.

"Children aren't getting good education in Ayodhya, we don't have good colleges here. When VVIPs turn up, we don't have good facilities for say a bare minimum of 2000 people to stay in Ayodhya and Faizabad put together. All this needs to be put in place," says Das, who himself owns a hotel near the railway station.

" What do these young boys who work as guides in the city make? A few hundreds everyday? I have shared my views on this about getting a fixed 'bhattha' of around 25-30,000 per month with our CM Yogi ji. He said there will be provisions for youth to register and train and know the history of Ayodhya and clear the tests - who will then be given a stipend," explains Das after expounding the significance of Ayodhya, the role of Dharma and its unfolding in the city.

Cut to a third-generation shopkeeper Surendra Kumar who sells pooja articles outside the Kanak Bhavan, and you hear optimism and faith that the current administration will come back to power.

A native of Ayodhya 'by caste Yadav', Kumar says "We had no hope of seeing the Ram Mandir being made in our lifetime until the judgement came. But since that day, now we are all a part of a grand celebration and our 'atma' is lost in the utsav of our Thakurji". Evidently impressed by the existing government, Kumar says 'Yogiji has given a lot to Ayodhya and since the time he has come here, we can see the foundation being laid for Ramrajya again'.

"Ayodhya will change, shops will have to go and the concerns are genuine too, so the government should ensure no one is deprived of their means of earning. Since our Thakurji too wouldn't like that his town sees anyone's life being dismantled, the government should ensure the development is inclusive," he opines.

As far as the voting is concerned, Kumar says "irrespective of who contests, our votes are for the Yogi Modi duo and nothing can change that. At least after the judgement the Hindu community has no reason to not vote for them. Also, 'vikas' will ensure that everyone benefits - be it through tourism or through the dharmashalas and other structures that come up - the city will ultimately benefit".

The unrest is also owing to the fact that the tasks are now long due. Markings have been done, information has been given, but no work has begun, and the uncertainty is what is troubling those who in their heart have made peace with the fact that the 'destruction' is not something that can be avoided. But the administration is aware of the underlying sentiments.

Finance and Accounts officer of the Ayodhya Development Board R P Singh, who has been associated with the development of the city for the last five years, agrees that the 'negative' feedback is very much prevalent, as people are indeed jittery.

"It is true. There are people nursing the thought that probably if the government doesn't come to power they may not lose their houses and shops," he says, while adding that "nevertheless compensation is being paid to all."

"Many of the shops are not owned by the shopkeepers but by temples and priests as is true for all old spiritual religious towns. But as per the 2013 notification, provision has been made to compensate even those shopkeepers - as all shops around the temple have been counted - including the temporary ones - they are around 1200 of them," he clarifies.

“Chief Minister has also taken special cognizance of this issue and asked the owners to shift these vendors at discounted rates when the new shops get made,” he adds.

But the unrest owing to the overall churning is real, admits Singh. “Given that we are working here for the last five years, we are aware as peoples expectations are very high and as of now we have not been able to fulfil them. But it is mainly because there was nothing here,” says Singh, as he put the state of the city in perspective.

“There was nothing in Ayodhya - no sewers, no nothing. So from that perspective a lot of work has been done and for those who have seen Ayodhya earlier - be it taking electric lines underground or any other - a lot of work has happened,” he explains.

”This was the first ‘nagar’ in ancient times - the only one to be mentioned as a ‘nagar’ in the Atharva Veda. For such a city to have no sewer, can you imagine what state of neglect it has been in?”, he asks reflecting about the dismal state of affairs until Ayodhya 2.0 was envisioned.

Reiterating ADA Chairman Vishal Singh’s apprehensions about people’s perception of Ayodhya as a ‘city cursed by Maa Sita’, Singh reiterates that there is no mention of any such claim in any tale or scripture.

“Why will Maa curse in the first place? This is the neglect of governments and all of us that we let Ayodhya be this way, that no one paid attention so far. Now that it is getting due attention, things will change but it will take time. When some place has absolutely nothing, it takes a lot of time to make it,” he explains.

"All bylanes in Ayodhya are dug up; for sewers they were dug up and then for laying the underground electric lines they were dug up. So for anyone visiting Ayodhya right now, whatever vision or expectations you have of Ram ki Nagari won't be here, "says Singh, adding that they too are sad about the delayed start.

But the ADA's working will be different; for instance, 'if we dig a trench, we wont close it until all that goes into it has been put in place, which wasn't how things worked until now', he says, listing out various bureaucratic hurdles that initially kept delaying all the work proposed plans for an 'ideal model'.

These mixed emotions are likely to have a bearing on the elections that are around the corner. While one section is vary of the incumbent government coming to power and hence may think twice before voting say locals, while the other believes, the manner in which the process of facelift is being handled is keeping in mind the crucial nature of this constituency and hence 'only beautification' is being now focused on. ‘Tod phod nahin ho rahi hai Abhi, bas saudarikaran ka kaam ho raha hai, kyunki chunav ke pehle tod phod karna theek nahin hoga’ explains a tourist guide.

Ganesh Kumar Pandey, a priest at the Guptahar ghat, the place Shri Ram walked into the river Sarayu with his followers, on the other hand is very vocal about the return of the present government as ‘every Hindu feels his sacred city is finally getting its due’.

“Brahman hai ghat ke aur Yogiji ke supporter bhi hain,” says Pandey, glad that the development work has begun again in full swing.

“As for those people who are saying this government wont come back to power, that‘s their misunderstanding. After decades, the system will clear those who have encroached upon the land of others who were helpless until now, while also compensating those who are being cleared. Given all this, we are sure the government will come back to power with full support and majority” he opines.

The guide nods in agreement saying “Hindus after decades can hope for Vikas even though it will entail some Vinas, but we have Viswas that Yogiji wont let us down“ he says in a poetic manner.

Acknowledging that the ‘development’ now will first entail a lot of destruction, "keh sakte hain ek tarah ke ujaadke banana hai (destruction will precede construction)”, says R P Singh, emphasising that the shift in perspective has happened only thanks to the CM’s intervention.

The goal is clear for everyone who is at the task, as envisioned by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he says. “Mukyamantri Ji kehte hain ki Ayodhya main jab aap chale toh aisa lage ki Bhagwaan kabhi in galiyon se chale honge".

But the delay in certain works is also because of ‘the fear of Yogi ji’ he opines. People dare not err or take things for granted for they fear being brought to book, which is a huge change from how they have been functioning all these years, he explains. “Thoda vilamb ho raha hai, Lekin thok bajake theek Karenge, aapki Ayodhya achi dikhegi (It is true there is a delay but Ayodhya will look good as they will do whatever it takes to fix it)”.

Elaborating about the changes that will be in place by the time the basic temple structure takes shape, “from the sewer system to the airport, from the multi-storeyed parking to the state of the art bus stand, a lot of Ayodhya too will be in place”.

On a signing off note, he says, rest assured, “if this government comes to power, Ayodhya will be a destination for people to come. And the way in which the path to the temple is being curated, even casual travellers will turn into pilgrims”.

Published on 1 October, 2021.