Ayodhya-Faizabad people heave a sigh of relief with verdict

Residents of Ayodhya and Faizabad today heaved a sigh of relief as the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court delivered its verdict on Ayodhya title suits ending days of uncertainty.

"The verdict will surely put an end to the ordeal we had been facing since the date for the judgement was announced. It has cleared the air of uncertainty," said Sanjay Kumar, who runs a nursing home in the town.

"I am really happy as I have witnessed the incidents of 1992. With security being tightened in the city in the wake of the verdict, there were certain apprehensions in our minds which now stand clear," 75-year-old Ram Kumari said. 

"Let's bury this 60-year-old corpse here and now," one of the litigants Hashim Ansari said, adding he had no objections over construction of the temple. 

Dean faculty of Arts Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University SC Tiwari said the people of Ayodhya had suffered a lot for no fault of theirs. 

"We had been literally living under the shadow of guns. With the court pronouncing its judgement, we hope security forces will now be withdrawn," he said.

The court's ruling also brought cheers to local businessmen, who had been ruing the decline in the number of visitors to the temple town for the last few years. 

"Our business had been affected adversely for nearly a month now as number of visitors had trickled down. With the court's decision and uncertainity over, pilgrims will start visiting this place again," a local businessman Akash Gupta said.

"All we want is that normalcy should return to this town," a medical practitioner Vishal Srivastava said. 

Meanwhile, after the court verdict security had been beefed up further in Ayodhya. 

"No vehicle is allowed entry into the temple town without extensive checking as patrolling has picked up," official sources said here.

Though markets in Faizabad were shut due to weekly closure, shops in Ayodhya closed as the verdict time neared in the afternoon. 

With outsiders being not allowed entry in the town, ghats and temples gave a deserted look althrough the day.