New Delhi: “I am a Ram bhakt. When I heard that Bhagwan Ram was coming to Ayodhya, my soul told me that I needed to go,” said Shyam Manohar, 45, a resident of Lucknow. Manohar, his wife and three children are set to travel to Varanasi on 25 January after the town is vacated by India’s VVIPs. And he has taken the services of a local tour company.
India’s leading tour and travel companies descended on Ayodhya even before Ram Lalla, and are tapping into the faith market that’s about to burst in the temple town. Uttar Pradesh is making its tourism circuit. It sees its own Madurai-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari in the Kashi-Prayagraj-Chitrakoot-Ayodhya route. From packaged sacred Ganga water to services of Hindu priests, travel companies are making all efforts to woo the devotees.
Major public streets and landmarks across the country are dotted with saffron flags and cutouts of Lord Ram, and small and large banners celebrating the construction of the Ram Mandir. “That’s what we…