When the Supreme Court had paved the way for construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya in its historic verdict in 2019, Dileep Pandey worked as a tailor in a cloth firm in Delhi. A native of Ayodhya, Pandey returned to his home when the first wave of Covid-19 struck in 2020. Sensing an opportunity in Ayodhya itself, he has decided never to return to Delhi. Pandey currently operates a small tour and transport firm facilitating people’s visit to Ayodhya from different parts of the country. With the inauguration of the newly-constructed Ram temple on January 22, Pandey (28), now aims at expanding the business in view of the swelling number of devotees visiting Ayodhya. ”I currently have three mid-size vans that visitors can hire to travel around Ayodhya. With the rise in the number of devotees, I plan to take a loan to buy two SUVs for them,” said Pandey. Though keen in studies, he dropped out from the first year of a college in Ayodhya in order to start a job. ”Ayodhya was nothing more than some old temples for us a few years ago. As I did not see any opportunities here, I decided to leave the place in search of work. I think the situation has changed now,” he remarked. Like Pandey, the youngsters in the temple town now see an opportunity the future holds and want to take advantage of it. According to experts, the opportunities lie specially in sectors related to tourism in the service industry. The locals saw a glimpse of the potential when over five lakh devotees from across the world offered darshan on Tuesday, the first day after the consecration ceremony. The number of visitors crossed 10 lakh by the end of the week, temple trust officials said. Most hotels in the temple town are fully reserved till March, forcing the tourists to look for accommodation in adjoining districts of Barabanki, Basti and even Lucknow and Gorakhpur. Labour and Employment Minister of State Anil Rajbhar said, ”Ayodhya will generate close to five lakh direct and indirect jobs related to the hospitality sector in the next five years… Besides jobs, there is also a huge possibility of youngsters to become entrepreneurs and set up small firms to cater to the demands of visitors or industries linked to them.” The minister said his department is working closely with the local administration of Ayodhya to facilitate employment to the youngsters. ”We are in talks with over a dozen big hotel brands who are either operational or will begin operations in next couple of years regarding staff requirement. Apart from this, the local administration will soon organise drives to hire people on ad hoc basis in various sectors,” said Rajbhar. Without waiting for the government to launch its drive, the youngsters of the town have already started inventing ways to claim a pie in the business. Prabhat Gond, a final year BA student, runs a small photography shop in Ayodhya. He started it as a hobby last year but now has team of five people. ”We have four photographers including me and a photo editor. We focus primarily on visitors coming from outside. We provide photo and video related services to them,” Gond said. Sandeep Tiwari, who graduated with a science degree last year, has enrolled in a hotel management course. He wishes to join a hotel after completing his course. Like Tiwari, several graduate students of Kamta Prasad Sunder Lal Post Saket Graduate College in Ayodhya have enrolled in courses of spoken English, hospitality and even tour operators to equip themselves for the service sector. ”One of my relatives owns a tour company and needs somebody who can communicate with the foreign tourists in English. So I have enrolled in a six-month spoken English course to join the firm,” said Vidyant Singh, a BSc graduate from the college. Unlike Singh, many youngsters have found part-time immediate employment as touts and official guides in the city. Dhruv Shukla, 19, workers as a guide-cum-tout. ”I pick visitors from Lata Mangeshkar Chowk to visit Hanuman Garhi and other temples after offering prayers at the Ram temple,” said Shukla, who charges anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per group of visitors. Still a college student, Shukla plans to complete his graduation before becoming a full-time guide for tourists.
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