Just under a kilometre from the revered Ram Janmabhoomi site, where the new Ram Temple was opened to the public on January 22 in Ayodhya, Dinesh Yadav finds himself grappling with the challenges of setting up his Domino’s pizza shop. Despite having opened it recently, he is experiencing brisk business.
“On the first day, I did around Rs 5,000 in business, and on the second day, it was Rs 4,500. We will do well,” Yadav told this reporter. Domino’s is the first fast-food chain outlet to have emerged in the vicinity of the Ram Temple.
Yadav said, “We started in a hurry. This shop is very small, and construction work is still ongoing. We cannot cater to customers in large numbers from here. Although we opened our shop on January 28, we are already looking for a bigger space.”
On the other hand, about 8 km from the Ram Temple, Awadh Kumar Verma, who oversees operations at Pizza Hut in Mall of Awadh, regrets the missed opportunity to have a shop near the Ram Temple. “Pizza Hut opened this shop around three months ago when the consecration dates were announced. But now, we are looking for a shop on Ram Path because the crowd is jamming that area.
“We are having fairly good business, but getting a shop there would really set the cash counter ticking,” he said.
Pizza Hut is prepared to exclusively serve vegetarian food in Ayodhya. “It is banned in Ayodhya. Though we are eight km from the main temple and outside the Panch Kosi Parikrama Marg, we do not serve non-veg food items here. The menu is an ‘all veg’ affair,” he said, addeding “Once we get a place in Ayodhya city, we will continue to serve vegetarian items.”
He mentioned the necessity to open a shop at Ram Path, emphasising that the sooner, the better.
Ayodhya is a no-liquor and no-meat zone where mutton and alcoholic drinks are prohibited inside the Panch Kosi marg. “We have offers from big food chain outlets to set up their shops in Ayodhya. We welcome them with open arms, but there is only one restriction: they should not serve non-veg food items inside the Panch Kosi,” said Vishal Singh, a government official in Ayodhya.
The Panch Kosi Parikrama is a 15-kilometre pilgrimage circuit around Ayodhya, visiting sacred sites linked to the Ramayana.
Singh mentioned that some outlets, renowned for their non-vegetarian food items, have established their units outside the 14 Kosi Parikrama Marg - a decision deemed justifiable. “KFC has set up its unit on the Ayodhya-Lucknow highway because we do not allow non-vegetarian food items here. We are ready to provide space even to KFC if it decides to sell only vegetarian items. However, as its specialty is chicken, there is a firm no from our side,” he said.
Ayodhya would not be the first city where serving non-veg and alcohol is strictly prohibited within the city area. Even in Haridwar, liquor and mutton are forbidden within the city, leading to food chain outlets serving non-veg items like KFC being situated on the Haridwar-Roorkee highway.
According to estimates, the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is expected to attract a traffic of 10-12 lakh people per week until Ram Navami on April 17. The number of visitors to the town is anticipated to remain high even after that.
Officials affirm that the food chain conglomerate has projected a business of over 100 crore, a feasible expectation given the influx of pilgrims coming to have a darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya.
Sharad Kapoor, President of the Faizabad Hotel Association (FHA), noted a change in the character of the devotees coming to Ayodhya in the last seven days. He said, “In the first few days, we had people from neighbouring districts who came to have a darshan, but now people from other parts of the state are also coming to Ayodhya.”
“As these people are coming from different parts of the country, they are well-versed with pizzas and burgers. Therefore, food chain outlets famous for pizzas and burgers are making a beeline to set up their shops in Ayodhya now,” Kapoor said.
Kamlesh Srivastava, BJP city president of Ayodhya, mentioned that 311 Aastha Special Trains will bring devotees from across the country for the darshan of Balak Ram. The administration is making arrangements so that they can get food to their taste. “Therefore, they are inviting big food chains here,” he said.
The Ayodhya Development Authority has plans to set up a food plaza at Chaudhary Charan Singh Ghat. The construction work has started, and the outlets are expected to be ready by mid-February, Srivastava added.
