As devotees flock to Ayodhya, CM Yogi reaches ground zero

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh): As devotees swarmed Ayodhya on the first day of the public opening of the magnificent Ram Temple on Tuesday to have darshan and offer their prayers, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached ground zero himself and took charge of their safety, convenience and comfort.

"The Chief Minister sent the officials first, then reached Ayodhya himself again on Tuesday, conducted an aerial survey to take stock of the situation and held a meeting with district administration officials, giving them necessary directions for controlling the crowd as well as ensuring foolproof security arrangements and the convenience of devotees," the Chief Minister's office said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister has appealed for patience and cooperation from the devotees coming from different parts of the country.

"Assuring devotees of a seamless darshan of Lord Shri Ram, the Chief Minister has urged them to exercise patience and cooperate with Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, local police and administration officials to avoid inconveniences. He has said that the government, trust and administration are trying to facilitate darshan of Lord Ram to every devotee," the press release further said.

As the Ram Temple opened its doors to public, lakhs of devotees thronged the streets of Ayodhya to have darshan of Ram Lalla braving the bone-chilling cold.

"All the routes leading to the temple--Dharampath, Ram Path and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Path--were flooded with swarms of people. The crowd of devotees started coming for darshan from 3 a.m., and by the time the gates were opened at 7 am, an hour earlier than the scheduled time, a huge crowd had gathered there. To control the unruly crowd inside the temple, the ATS and RAF commandos also entered the temple premises," the press release stated.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi, the administration and police teams were fully prepared for the safety, comfort and convenience of the devotees. The number of devotees continued to increase substantially as the day progressed and by afternoon, about three lakh devotees had already had darshan and were ecstatic after seeing the child form of the Lord while approximately the same number were waiting in the queue.

On the other hand, the Chief Minister present in Lucknow has been keeping an eye on Ayodhya since morning. He directed Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad and Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar to reach the spot to ensure that there is no lapse in the security of the devotees and no inconvenience is caused to anyone.

Both the senior officials reached Ayodhya and started making arrangements for easy darshan of the people in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Shortly after sending the officers to the spot, Chief Minister Yogi himself reached Ayodhya and took the entire command in his own hands. First of all, he took information about all the arrangements for darshan along with the safety of the devotees at Ramkatha Kunj. After this, he, along with the Principal Secretary of Home and the Director General of Police, conducted an aerial survey of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and Rampath in Ayodhya by helicopter and ensured that every devotee was safe and no one was facing any problems.

On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the District Magistrate has deployed magistrates at eight places. These magistrates have been appointed to maintain peace, security, traffic and order.

"Ayodhya Police have deployed teams at all key points for easy and safe darshan of the devotees. All suspicious vehicles and persons coming into the district are being checked by the police at all the inter-district borders, barriers and checkpoints of the district. Also, suspicious vehicles and persons are being checked at all important places, hotels, railway stations, bus stations. Social media platforms are also being monitored carefully to prevent any kind of rumour," the press release added.

The Chief Minister also gave instructions to continuously announce the necessary information to help the crowd and maintain cleanliness in the city.