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{/googleAds} For the moment, its backwardness writ large all over, with young men and women fleeing the town to greener pastures in search of “rozi-roti.” Trains bound for Mumbai from Faizabad tell the grim tale as one notices groups of youngsters clinging perilously to windows of over-crowded railway compartments heading for the El Dorado called Mumbai.

What has religion or Hindutva given the average Ayodhyaite? “Nothing tangible really. Only an uncertain and scarry future,” says Naresh Yadav, who has just completed a BCA course, now working as a computer operator at a cyber café.

A Bhutta-seller on the Ayodhya-Faizabad road, Nasir wonders what the dispute is all about. “We were born here and will die here. Those politicians from the two sides will keep using us to their advantage.”

Ayodhya is presently battling water-logging and flooding in some parts. The fields are water-logged, agricultural operations have been delayed by the heavy rains. The locals say they have other more important issues to address than worry about the resolution of the imbroglio that has not only impacted Indian politics in a fundamental manner but has widened the communication gap between the two communities.

For all practical purposes the stalemate suits all interest groups. The Ram Janam Bhoomi Trust, meanwhile is all geared and ready with the paraphernalia, the carved stone arches, the sturdy Dholpur stone pillars and intricately carved structures for the façade to build the Ram Temple, as soon as the judiciary gives the green signal, according to a supervisor at the “karyashala.”

Successive governments in Lucknow have done hardly anything for the development of this backward area. "The teenagers are migrating to greener pastures, the agriculturists are unhappy, the work-force that could have been productively used had there been some industrialisation, faces an uncertain future," says a local journalist Deen Dayal.

"Religious tourism has not helped develop the town or bring a degree of prosperity as you see in several other pilgrim centres like Tirupati, Guruvayoor or Nathdwara. Even Mathura and Vrindavan have gained from the influx of pilgrims. But in Ayodhya all the benefits and donations are pocketed by the Ashram heads or the Akhadas. The common people ply the rickshaws or take their turns as guides. Outsiders who come do not spend money here. Most do not even stay overnight as there is no  attraction, no cultural or religious programmes," laments school teacher Hari Dutt.

The sadhus at the Saryu Ghat are not happy with what they call an “anti-Hindu government in New Delhi.” An elderly Naga sadhu with a flowing beard shouts “this is a corrupt regime, its Ravan Rajya. Nothing is improving. We, in thousands are waiting in Ayodhya for the day when the Ram temple would be constructed and we will have Ram Rajya.”

The politicians only know how to use a sensitive issue to create an electoral frenzy and that perhaps is the reason "why the issue is not being sorted out and is dragging in various foras," adds a tea-shop owner Mahesh Katiyar.

Anywhere you go in Ayodhya, you only see heaps of garbage and dirt. The drains are choked and dirty water overflowing from the sewers. "The eating joints are few but mosquitoes in abundance," comments rikshaw wala Ravindra.

When asked how long it would take to sort out the tussle, an elderly guide Ram Prasad at the Birla Dharamshala says the solution will come after 2014 elections but hotel manager Arun feels the stalemate will continue indefinitely because it suits everyone, the politicians in particular.

At the Sri Ram Sewa Trust office an activist passionately supports the cumbersome and irritating security arrangements at the disputed site where Lord Rama sits in a makeshift tented accommodation.

A majority of pilgrims who daily visit the Ram Lala site for a darshan of the presiding deity clearly resent excessive searches and frisking while inching towards a heavily barricaded serpentine channelled route constantly under watch by all designs and makes of security organisations from commandos to rapid action force personnel.

The security cover is a boon to pilgrims whose life is secure and free from the tension of terrorist attacks says Pandey Omkar Nath who runs a sweet shop. He informs there have been seven unsuccessful attempts by terrorists in Ayodhya “ but Hanuman ji has foiled all of them.”

But by the time you are face to face with the deity, one forgets the real values and ideals of Sri Ram. The awe and security concerns, the imposing bandobast and the five times frisking, leave you wondering was it all worth it. A journey of a hundred yards becomes a torturous yatra of several kilometres.

Ram Krishnan leading a group from Tamil Nadu said “only monkeys seem to enjoy freedom here,” after his packet of prasad was snatched away by a ferocious looking simian.

Nobody seems happy with the reality of the situation. Recently some local groups that include members from both communities have started collecting signatures on a petition that refers to some misty compromise formula having been reached to resolve the issue.