Ram Lalla Idol's Ayodhya Tour Scheduled For January 17 Cancelled; Here's Why

The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has cancelled a planned tour of the new idol of Ram Lalla across Ayodhya scheduled for January 17. The grand temple trust said that the tour was aimed at letting devotees catch a glimpse of the new idol of Ram Lalla, ahead of the consecration ceremony scheduled for January 22 in Ayodhya.

Instead, the trust will now arrange a tour of the new idol inside the premises of the Ram Janmabhoomi on the same day (January 17), a senior functionary of the Trust said.

The temple trust said the tour was cancelled due to crowd management concerns. They said, crowd management concerns that was raised by security agencies have led to the cancellation of the city tour. The decision was taken by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust officials after meeting with the Acharyas of Kashi and senior administrative officials.

According to the Ayodhya district administration, it was discussed in the meeting that it would be difficult to control the crowd as devotees and pilgrims will rush to have the 'darshan' of the new idol of Ram Lalla when it is taken out in the city.

Meanwhile, Ayodhya is all decked for the Pran Pratistha ceremony and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the grand event in Ayodhya on January 22. Scores of chief ministers from NDA-ruled states, prominent celebrities, other VIPs and more than 6,000 people are scheduled to attend the ceremony in Ayodhya.

Vedic rituals for the ceremony in the temple town will begin on January 16, a week before the event. A priest from Varanasi, Lakshmi Kant Dixit, will perform the main rituals of the consecration ceremony.

A 1008 Hundi Mahayagya will also be organised, in which thousands of devotees will be fed. Several tent cities are being set up in Ayodhya to accommodate thousands of devotees expected to arrive in the temple town of Uttar Pradesh for the grand consecration. According to the Sri Ram Janambhoomi Trust, arrangements will be made for 10,000-15,000 people.

(With Agency Inputs)