Encroachments strike jarring note at epicentre of temple politics as business grows in Ayodhya

In view of the perception that resentment among locals in Ayodhya, triggered by demolition of shops for road widening projects, led to the BJP’s loss here in the 2024 general election, no one wants to rub traders the wrong way.

Almost eight months after the Ram temple was inaugurated in Ayodhya spurring an increase in economic activity and three months after the BJP lost the prestigious Faizabad Lok Sabha seat to the Samajwadi Party, there is a sense of disquiet among traders in the pilgrim town over the issue of encroachments.

According to Ayodhya divisional commissioner Gaurav Dayal, all illegal structures have been removed by the company. (HT)

In view of the perception that resentment among locals in Ayodhya, triggered by demolition of shops for road widening projects, led to the BJP’s loss here in the 2024 general election, no one wants to rub traders the wrong way.

In an instance of the Ayodhya administration paying quick heed to traders’ grievances, Kavatch, a Gujarat- based company, had to remove its illegal kiosks at the Kaushlesh Kunj shopping complex on Railway Station Road after local traders lodged a complaint with the district magistrate.

The company, which runs a restaurant business, had allegedly encroached on the parking area of the complex and the courtyard.

According to Ayodhya divisional commissioner Gaurav Dayal, all illegal structures have been removed by the company.

Dayal also said encroachments from across the city were being removed.

The issue came to the fore when Nandlal Gupta, a trader leader, took it up with the Ayodhya administration.

“The company had encroached on the parking area of the shopping complex and the courtyard. After we lodged a complaint with the Ayodhya administration, the company removed its illegal structures,” said Nandlal Gupta.

Most of the encroachments that riled the local traders allegedly came up with the advent of “outsiders” on Ayodhya’s business horizon.

Ayodhya’s new lifeline, the 13-km bustling Ram Path, is also facing encroachment issues as kiosks have come up on pavements on both sides of this arterial road.

“Only authorised vendors will be allowed to operate on footpaths on both sides of the Ram Path. If there is any illegal vendor or kiosk blocking the footpath, then it will be removed,” said Ayodhya mayor Girishpati Tripathi.

Nevertheless, the administration appears to be dealing with the local traders with velvet gloves.

The Ayodhya administration is going slow when it comes to removing encroachments on Ram Path after local traders opposed any action against them, according to those in the know of things.

“All are local and small-time traders (on Ram Path). They are struggling to make two ends meet. Any action against them will cause loss of livelihood,” said Nandlal Gupta.

The Ayodhya administration had faced stiff opposition from locals when shops were demolished last year for three road widening projects- Ram Path, Ram Janmabhoomi Path and Bhakti Path.

“No one is willing to antagonise locals or traders. Encroachment is a small issue. Most of them are small -time vendors who are trying to earn their livelihood. They will be regularised and space will be allotted to them,” said a senior BJP leader of Ayodhya.

It is widely perceived that due to resentment among locals in Ayodhya, triggered by demolition of shops for the road widening projects, the BJP lost the prestigious Faizabad Lok Sabha seat to Samajwadi Party in the 2024 general election.

Post election, this is not the first time that the administration has sought to placate traders in Ayodhya.

Soon after the Lok Sabha poll defeat, the Yogi Adityanath government had tweaked its policy in Ayodhya, deciding to hand over 500 newly constructed shops on the temple town’s Rampath on interest-free long-term instalments, moving on “from pay first” to “possession first and pay later”.

These allottees were those who were displaced due to a road widening project from Sahadatganj to Naya Ghat.

Earlier, shopkeepers were supposed to pay the full amount to the Aydohya Development Authority to take possession of these shops measuring 100 sq feet to 150 sq feet which cost around ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh each, making it almost impossible for the traders to pay the amount and leaving them with no option but to consider bank loans.

To compensate the shopkeepers displaced due to the road widening project in 2023, the ADA constructed 400 shops at Tedi Bazar, 50 near Ayodhya Dham Railway station and 50 in Beniganj area.

Though the shops were ready in December last, only around 75 shopkeepers took possession of them till the last month due to financial constraints.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the BJP suffered a humiliating defeat in the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat where its two-time sitting MP Lallu Singh lost to the Samajwadi Party’s Awadesh Prasad in June. This was less than five months after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at the Ram temple on January 22. The Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency is considered the geographical centre of Kamandal or temple politics, but it has also consistently witnessed an undercurrent of caste dynamics since the late 1980s.

According to political observers, the BJP’s failure to strike the right Kamandal-Mandal balance was a crucial factor that hurt its chances of victory.

Prasad, the INDIA bloc candidate won the prestigious seat by a margin of 54,567 votes. Prasad got 5,54,289 votes and Singh bagged 4,99,722 votes.