As devotees continue to flock to Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple on January 22, the temple town is becoming an attractive destination for fast food giants like Pizza Hut and Dominos despite the restriction in serving meat and alcohol in the vicinity of the temple.
There is a strict prohibition on serving alcohol and meat within Panch Kosi Marg, the 15-km pilgrimage circuit around Ayodhya. Despite not serving meat-based food items, a Domino’s pizza joint in the area has been witnessing high footfall, according to media reports.
A government official in Ayodhya said the authorities are ready to provide space even for KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), operated in India by Devyani International, if the fast food giant agrees to have a no-meat menu in their outlet in the temple town.
“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, that they should not serve non-veg food items inside the panch Kosi,” Moneycontrol quoted the government official as saying.
“KFC has set up its unit at Ayodhya-Lucknow highway because we do not allow non-vegetarian food items here. We are ready to provide even KFC a space if it decides to sell only vegetarian items,” the official further said.
Pizza Hut, which already opened an outlet in the Mall of Awadh, about 8km from the temple town three months ago, is reportedly planning to set up shop in Ayodhya, serving vegetarian pizzas.
