Nearly 3 lakh devotees offer prayers at Ayodhya Ram temple

Pic/PTI

Bundled up in warm clothes, around three lakh devotees lined up outside the newly inaugurated Ram temple on a cold Wednesday morning amid tight security arrangements.

The temple opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, a day after the grand consecration ceremony. Around 5 lakh devotees visited the temple on day one.

Amid the huge rush of devotees in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with officials in Lucknow to review the steps taken for crowd management and advised VIPs planning to visit the temple to inform authorities in advance.

A district administration official said an estimated 3 lakh people had paid obeisance to Ram Lalla till Wednesday afternoon.

Director General (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI, "We have established a better queuing system for the devotees who are coming for darshan. The situation is under control."

Asked about steps taken to manage crowds, Principal Secretary, Home, Sanjay Prasad told PTI, "Darshan is going on smoothly. We have established a public facilitation centre and a different exit route. There is no crowding now."

Roadways buses plying from Sultanpur to Ayodhya were also stopped for crowd control.
Nagendra Prasad Pandey, Regional Manager, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) said the decision was taken following oral orders of Sultanpur District Magistrate Kritika Jyotsana.

Roads leading to Ayodhya witnessed a huge rush of vehicles.

According to an official statement, Adityanath held a meeting with officials to review arrangements made at the temple complex to manage crowds and advised VIPs to inform the state government or the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust about their visits a week before scheduling them.

"A multitude of devotees from across the country are flocking to Ayodhya Dham, eager to catch a glimpse of their revered deity Lord Shri Ram. Given the extraordinary influx, VIPs and distinguished individuals... it would be appropriate for them to inform the local administration, Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, or the Uttar Pradesh Government a week in advance before scheduling their visit," the statement quoted the chief minister as saying.

He also directed officials to stop additional roadways buses to Ayodhya for now.
He inspected the arrangements and deputed senior officials to ensure smooth and easy darshan for the devotees.

Adityanath had conducted an aerial inspection of the Ram temple site and the city on Tuesday as crowd began to build up at the temple complex.

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