New Delhi: There are over five months for the Ram Lalla idol consecration ceremony at the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Temple and as many as 4,000 Ayodhya hotel rooms are booked for the likely dates of the event in January 2024.
While the popular hotels have not jacked up their rates, others and dharamshalas have hiked their tariff for that period, people associated with the hotel trade in the temple town said.
“As compared to the ₹2500 room tariff in a prominent hotel (now), the not-so-popular hotels are charging ₹4000 for room bookings for the (likely dates of the) Ram Mandir ceremony,” Hindustan Times quoted a hotel owner as saying.
“Prominent hotels have a permanent flow of customers throughout the year. So, they cannot hike tariff all of a sudden for the Ram Mandir ceremony,” he explained. The same is the case with dharamshalas in Ayodhya.
According to the publication, the famous Janki Mahal Trust is charging Rs 800 for an air-conditioned room now and is expected to continue to do so. The not- so-prominent dharamshalas are charging Rs 1200 to Rs 1600 for room bookings for the likely period.
Such is the rush that some hotels have stopped both online and offline booking of rooms for the period coinciding with the likely date of the ceremony even though the date for opening of Ram Mandir is yet to be announced.
Prominent hotels in Ayodhya are receiving an average of 25 enquiry calls daily from people all across the country for room bookings for the mega ceremony. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to be the chief guest at the event. A prominent hotelier said that around 80% of the rooms have been booked, while the remaining 20% have been reserved for VVIPs on instructions of the district administration. Hindustan Times quoted the Hotel Owners’ Association, Ayodhya, there are around 150 hotels in the city and Ayodhya Dham. These include 10 luxury hotels, 25 budget hotels, 115 economy hotels, 35 unrecognised guest houses, 50 dharamshalas and 50 homestay/paying guest houses, accounting for a total of 10,000 rooms in the district.
