On Day 1, over three lakh devotees offer prayers at Ayodhya temple

Devotees wait to take ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla a day after the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram Mandir, in Ayodhya on January 23, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Tens of hundreds of devotees from across the country, who have been waiting for a glimpse of the Lord Ram idol in Ayodhya, on Tuesday broke through the security cordon on several occasions as the Ram temple was opened for the general public after the grand consecration ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Devotees standing outside the Ram Mandir gates from early morning, carrying flags of Lord Ram and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ gave a tough time to security personnel deployed to control the crowd. At least four devotees fainted as the people forced their way towards the temple.

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The Uttar Pradesh Government said more than three lakh devotees offered prayers to Ram Lalla in the Ram Temple on Tuesday and a large number were waiting outside the temple for the darshan. 

A massive crowd at the main gateway leading to the Ram temple complex, as it opened its doors to the general public a day after the consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

“I waited for seven hours to offer my prayers to Lord Ram. It is the moment to cherish for lifetime. The security arrangements were good, but it could have been better, if the administration would have restricted the movement of outsiders in Ayodhya,” said Umakant Mishra, a local.

Amid the influx of a large number of devotees, senior State officials, including Special DG (Law and Order), Prashant Kumar and Principal Secretary (Home) were present inside the sanctum sanctorum to manage the crowd. Uttar Pradesh deployed more than 11,000 police personnel to control the situation.

“The atmosphere inside the sanctum sanctorum is electrifying, I haven’t seen such a scene in my lifetime,” said Prabhakar Upadhyay, a devotee from Sitapur. People from other States also reached Ayodhya to have a glimpse of the Lord Ram on Day 1. BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda’s scheduled visit to Ayodhya on January 24 has been postponed and no prominent BJP leader will be visiting Ayodhya in the coming few days. 

Aerial survey

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath conducted an aerial survey of the temple and directed officials to take all necessary measures for controlling the crowd. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appealed to devotees to maintain discipline while offering prayers and inside the temple premises. “There is a huge crowd of Ram devotees in Ayodhya Dham. I appeal everyone to have darshan with complete discipline,” said Mr. Maurya. 

Amid the sea of devotees trying to reach Ayodhya, the Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation suspended many of its services to the temple town. Since 12 noon, most of the roadway’s buses coming to Ayodhya were diverted for the day. Many of the private vehicles trying to enter Ayodhya were also diverted from the Barabanki Highway. “We were giving instructions that all buses going to Ayodhya should be stopped for some time,” said Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation media in-charge Ajit Singh.