The name of God doesn’t just sell. In a holy place like Mathura, it sells profusely and is big business.
Mathura, believed to be the birth place of Lord Krishna, has the potential to generate business worth at least Rs 1,000 crore per annum in the near future as per estimates.

Reportedly, this religious city, which falls in the tourism network of the “golden triangle” of Delhi-Agra-Jaipur, at present generates business worth Rs 500 crore per annum — ranging from tourism, to sale of costumes and ornaments of gods and goddesses. 

Though there are no official figures to indicate entire gamut of business — direct and indirect — being generated, tourist and industry sources say even Rs 500 crore is a conservative figure.  

“As per a rough estimate  Mathura’s growing tourism industry is generating business worth Rs 500 crore per annum,” says Naveen Nagar, President of the trust looking after Bishram Ghat — a major pilgrimage centre in Mathura.

“If there is a coordinated approach to project it (Mathura) further as a tourist destination, Krishna’s birth place can easily generate business opportunities worth Rs 1,000 crore in 2 to 3 years time,” Nagar told a group of journalists, who visited Mathura recently.

Nearly two crore people visit Mathura and the surrounding Braj Bhumi area, where Lord Krishna spent his childhood, annually, said D K Sharma, tourist officer of the UP Tourism Department.  

A large number of tourists from abroad visit various mythological points spread across 262 square km of the Braj Bhumi  Sharma said.

Mathura is also famous for being the place to shop for costumes for gods and religious ornaments, said Sharma.
“In temples across the world, whether they be in Java or Sumatra or Chicago or Los Angeles, the deities are dressed up in clothes and ornaments made in Mathura,” Sharma said. Nearly two to three lakh families living in villages surrounding Mathura are directly engaged in preparing costumes and ornaments for various gods and goddesses.