Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir: Locals debunk the myths

The locals in Ayodhya have cleared the air about the fake narrative that is being spread post the Lok Sabha elections 2024 about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) losing Ayodhya despite reconstruction of the Ram Mandir while in reality the constituency is Faizabad which was not the BJP stronghold before 2014. The fact also remains that BJP had taken lead in the Ayodhya Assembly segment where the temple is situated. The other four assembly segments due to various dynamics, including the caste arithmetic and Muslim consolidation led to the losing of the Lok Sabha seat. The locals seems to be very sensitive about this fact.

Residents of Ayodhya have refuted opposition claims that those who lost their properties were not properly compensated and added that the government did provide them with adequate compensation and also got their property renovated when it was damaged at the time of beautification of the holy city. At the same time, the presence of thousands of devotees is testimony to the fact that there is no dwindling of numbers post-June 4, 2024, after the Lok Sabha results were announced. Another fake narrative of the opposition was exposed when Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra clarified that there was no water leakage in the sanctum sanctorum where Ram Lalla resides in the temple in Ayodhya. The statement came amid reports of water leakage from the roof in the newly constructed Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra issued a statement wherein he categorically rejected all the reports about the seepage of rainwater from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple saying that it came down from the pipes fixed to install electric wires.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra also issued a statement debunking the leakage reports. The trust issued a statement in which it said, “Excellent arrangements have been made for the drainage of rainwater in the temple and park complex, the work of which is in progress. The entire complex has been managed for rainwater with zero water discharge outside. Recharge pits are being constructed on the campus to retain rainwater.”

Vikas Soni who is a local of Ayodhya and is voluntarily working within the Ram Mandir premises and taking care of the footwear of the devotees said, “False news is being spread on social media and various other platforms about the dip in the number of devotees visiting Ayodhya post the Lok Sabha 2024 results.” He added that though the BJP might have lost the Lok Sabha seat in Ayodhya as its candidate lost elections to Lallu Singh who was defeated by Samajwadi Party’s candidate Awadhesh Prasad by a margin of 54,567 votes, however, people still have immense love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in 2027, when the assembly elections will be held, the BJP will bounce back and come out in flying colours.

Soni hailed the employment opportunities that have been created after the construction of the Ram Mandir and added that in the past if people were earning one thousand rupees per day, that amount has increased to about three to five thousand as a large number of tourists and pilgrims are coming to the holy city of Ayodhya. On the issue of compensation and the fake narrative that is being spread, Soni said that the people have been adequately compensated. He further opined that in the past the rent of the shops was very meager and the shopkeepers used to earn somewhere around one to thousand rupees per day. However, in the present times, the income has increased substantially.

A similar viewpoint was expressed by another local Angat Tiwari, who owns a sweet shop. Tiwari added that “though there is some distress among the local shopkeepers about the amount of compensation, however, with time this will wither away as their income will increase. With more and more tourists coming, the income of the shopkeepers will increase and they will be able to recover the loss that they have incurred.”

Ayodhya’s District Magistrate Nitish Kumar had categorically mentioned that a total of Rs 1,253.06 crore was given as compensation to the residents affected by the various construction works for developing Ayodhya Dham. He clearly stated that all the development work that was undertaken in Ayodhya was done after due deliberation with the building owners, land owners, and shopkeepers. The ex-gratia and the compensation were provided to the affected people, depending upon the size of their shops. Kumar further informed that those whose business was affected as their shops were shifted, were paid an amount of somewhere between Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per shopkeeper.

A medical store owner, Bharat Kanojia who owns the shop outside the Ram Mandir stated that all the claims made by the opposition that compensation was not given to the people is a farce. He added that all the people who possessed the legal documents, justifying the fact that they were the owners of the said property, all received due compensation from the government.

One very pertinent point that the people of Ayodhya made in unison on being asked if there was a decline in the number of devotees who are visiting Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir, they all said that there has been no decline. Some of the security officials who were on duty spoke on the condition of anonymity and said that every day a sea of devotees visit the holy city to have darshan of Ram Lalla. The security official stated that all the reports claiming that the number of devotees has fallen are false post the loss of BJP candidate Lallu Singh from Faizabad constituency in the recently concluded Lok Sabha Elections.

Though the BJP might have lost the Lok Sabha Election in Faizabad which comprises other areas also, the joy of the locals sees no boundaries with the construction of the magnificent Ram Mandir for which they had to wait for more than five centuries.