Beyond Ram Mandir: It Is Now About Ayodhya 2.0

Ayodhya is traditionally regarded as the most sacred among the seven saptapuris (Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura, Haridwar, Kanchi, Avantika or Ujjain and Dwaraka) that are also identified with seven portions of the body of Shri Vishnu — with it being the ‘mastak’ or head.

There were devotees, mendicants, a film crew wrapping up shooting, tourists clicking pictures and hundreds of members of the ‘Vanar sena’ keeping everyone literally on their toes, as they waited to flick the bag of prasad or fruit or any other object in hand.

The perennial disregard for its historic importance by governments of the past is visible in the fact that the task at hand is of a complete overhaul.

As I boarded an e-rickshaw with a local guide, the stench of the city began to get to me. A sudden downpour meant the streets were all now wet and that began to reveal the scale of the issues that the city faces and the task at hand for the current administration.

In the next three days, rains ensured almost all the streets and mezzanine lanes were filled with water, drains clogged, and activity dismantled every few hours.

‘Jai Siya Ram’ went the ‘certified priest’-turned tourist guide Vishnu as he started showing me around, glad that he no longer has to call his land the ‘vivadit sthal’.

There are more than 7,500 temples, and in all of them, you will find our ‘Siya Ram‘.

The Nagari of Ram through the eyes of Vishnu is one that speaks of hope — all though until recently, it largely reeked of utter apathy from the system and an acceptance of status quo by the people.

And this is precisely the largest challenge for the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA), which now has upon itself the task of creating anew this city which has only lived in the past with its present cradled for decades in the courts of justice.

“When I joined, I remember people exclaimed ‘yahaan pe kuch nai ho sakta, yahan Vikas nahin hoga, yahan Sita ji ka shraap hai’. This is the mental set up I encountered when I joined here around a year ago, although there is no mention of any such curse anywhere. This attitude had me worried, but as we have worked with people over the last one year, things have changed drastically. People now want change, and are willing to participate in the process of transforming Ayodhya,” says ADA Vice-Chairman and Ayodhya Municipal Commissioner Vishal Singh who has been chosen for this task of enabling the creation of Ramarajya 2.0.

From calling Ayodhya "cursed" to now volunteering with active participation in the mohalla samitis that have been formed to take responsibility for their respective mohallas, people are gradually changing.

“They themselves go and warn dairy owners if their cattle are found wandering and littering the streets. So, ultimately, it is about a change in attitude and we are hoping that in another six months, we will be able to see a much better Ayodhya,” says a hopeful Singh.

“But at the same time, if you want to change the face of a place, you cannot do it by only providing the religious infrastructure or tourism infrastructure — you need to have an economy backing it up side by side,” he emphasises, adding that it is now more about a holistic development of the region.

“Once economic upliftment begins, when people start seeing an increase in income by being in Ayodhya, they will take pride in their city and will start valuing it more than they do right now,” he adds, also mentioning that the city will soon see an all stakeholder and investor meet called RAM — Rising Ayodhya Meet.

“When you call it RJB 2.0 it becomes a little constricted because, yes, it is at the centre — the core — but the periphery that we are planning around it is much bigger. We are talking about the chaurasi kosi parikrama area — which is five districts and three divisional commissionerates. In this area, many significant places from Prabhu Shri Ram’s life are strewn around — many of which are dilapidated and hence no one knows about them. There's no way to reach them. So we are enhancing each of them. Our DPR for chaudhakosi and panch kosi parikramas are ready and are in the final stages of sanction. The chaurasi kosi is a 35-km diameter which has already been declared a national highway. So we are working on all the areas that falls within it to give it a new shape and form“.

Development is happening on multiple fronts — from infrastructure creation, to sanitation, beautification and reclamation and rejuvenation of ancient natural water reservoirs to planting trees, and solid waste management.

Beautification and reclamation

Beautification of Ayodhya has already begun with the Ayodhya art project, which is funded by the NMCG.

Vaidya R P Pandey, a water warrior of Ayodhya who has been working for the conservation of the ‘kunds’ for decades is glad the ADA is involved in the effort and is also advising them on the same.

Having spent decades fighting legally for various ponds and their conservation, only to find that the ones who held the land on which some of these ponds existed struck deals with developers who ‘settled’ and took over the water bodies, Pandey is glad and hopeful that won't happen anymore.

”All the kunds have a cultural relevance. But for now, the beautification work has begun on those ponds which have clear papers. We have submitted further details to the ADA,” says Pandey, who has also penned a book on the different ‘kunds’ while appreciating the work being undertaken.

”There are plans for a priest also to be available at each kund so that he can have Pooja done at the water bodies for those who seek to know the history of the kund,” elaborates Pandey.

While work is on to rejuvenate these multiple ponds through a community- driven sustainable model, the largest body of water that is being worked upon by the ADA is probably the Sita Jheel, which for any passerby looks nothing more than an endless stretch of garbage and lake weeds.

“Sita Jheel has 70,000 tonnes of garbage — legacy waste — which is being processed. This work has already been contracted and an organisation has been hired to dig up all that,” explains Singh.

“They filled an entire lake with solid waste, which is now excavated, biodemedicated, segregated, processed and recycled. That work has already started and they have deployed a special machine called the Warrior 1200 to do this,” he adds.

The city, although full of stench with open drains clogged with floodwaters and construction work adding to the woes, is being set right methodically, says Singh, adding that work is already under way for a sewer to be laid in portions of Faizabad area, and tendering being under way for a 33 MLD sewage treatment plant.

Of these, 67 are estimated to be completed by 15 December 2021, given that the state is also going to elections early next year.

Many a project is lined up like the Mukti Dham project, which will involve renovation of traditional cremation chambers, creation of 10 new cremation chambers, two new electric chambers and green cremation chambers each among others.

The Ramayan Cruise between Ram ki Paidi and Guptahar ghat, a grander Queen Ho memorial, and beautification of the Ayodhya bypass (16 km) will be an added attraction this Deepotsav.

A lot is under way in Ayodhya as we speak, and it definitely is beyond the scope of one article to record all that I saw, felt, and encountered.

Published on 21 September, 2021.