(MENAFN- IANS) By Pawan Tripathi
Ayodhya, June 4 (IANS) The construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is set to completely transform the holy city into a religious and tourist destination.
Earlier, only small hotels and dharamshalas were visible in the city, but in a few years, luxury five-star hotels have also shown interest in starting operations in the city.
Besides big hotels, food chains of big brands are also exploring possibilities in Ayodhya and now preparations have started to establish them here.
In the next one to two years, Ayodhya is going to transform completely as the entire surrounding area will be full of temples.
Tourist footfall from all over the world is set to increase once the construction of the grand temple gets complete. Considering this, hotels, restaurants, cinemas as well as shopping complexes are exploring possibilities for themselves.
Many big companies have even bought land for extending their operations here.
If we look at the figures for the years 2021 and 2022, about four crore devotees have come to Ayodhya. After the construction of the temple in 2024, this figure is estimated to reach close to 8 to 10 crores.
The government has even announced special subsidies for dharamshalas to ensure proper accommodation facilities for pilgrims in Ayodhya.
Several luxury hotels are being constructed in Ayodhya. The government has approved about 30 big hotels in the last month.
The local pre-built hotels are also being expanded. Ayodhya's famous Panchsheel Hotel, where there used to be around 50 rooms, now 50 more rooms are being constructed to make it a 100-room hotel.
In the same way, other hotels in Ayodhya are also enhancing their capacity.
Ayodhya Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh told IANS that a large number of people will come to Ayodhya as soon as the Ram temple gets open for devotees and their accommodation will also be taken care of. The plan for which has been prepared and is being executed.
According to Singh, a large number of hotels should be built in Ayodhya, for which the tourism department has also made a lot of changes in the tourism policy. The department has exempted hotels from paying development charges.
Building plans of 30 hotels have been approved in the last one to one and a half months. Construction works have also started, which is expected to be completed by December. Along with this, a study has also been done about the already existing dharamshalas and guest houses in Ayodhya. They are being upgraded.
The already existing dharamshalas and guest houses will be renovated, and their special design will also be taken care of so that the pilgrims who come here, would get a better understanding of Ayodhya.
Along with this, there are many 'Panchayati temples' (ashrams) which are being renovated so that they can be used by the people in the coming times.
The project for developing homestay has also been started. Under this, whoever has a house with more than five rooms, is being convinced to make those rooms available to the tourists by improving their capacity. From November to December, almost 6000 rooms would be made available for homestay.
"Along with this, we are also making a tent city comprising 50 tents and the tender process for the same has been completed. We have also identified a 150-hectare land to build a bigger tent city on the lines of Banaras. As soon as the construction of the Ram Temple gets completed, the number of devotees coming to Ayodhya will start increasing and it will be the responsibility of the district administration to take special care of pilgrims' stay, food and safety on their arrival," the Municipal Commissioner added.
The district administration and the Municipal Corporation are working on a war footing to ensure the timely completion of all the works.
Singh said that efforts are being made to ensure that the pilgrims visiting here would not face any problems with accommodation and at least one lakh pilgrims could stay in the holy city.
--IANS
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