Ayodhya: Devotees break through security cordon to offer prayers at Ram Mandir

Thousands of devotees gathered at the Ram temple in Ayodhya after it was open to prayers for general public a day after the consecration ceremony.

In a video shared by news agency ANI, devotees broke through security at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. The people had been turning up in large numbers to offer prayers to Ram Lalla.

The entire stretch of the 13-kilometre long Ram Path from the Lata Mangeshkar Chowk was crowded with people moving at a snail’s pace. As per the Ayodhya administration, devotees from the temple town and other parts of the country had been arriving at the temple from 5 am.

As the day progressed, the Ram Path turned into a sea of crowd. A large contingent of police personnel was rushed to the temple to control the situation. Barricades were put up and entry into the temple was stopped to control the crowd. Gradually, the situation was brought under control.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ayodhya Range, Praveen Kumar said the extra police force has been deployed to manage the crowd. He said people are requested to wait for thier turn and don’t create panic in hurry to visit the temple.

Another police official said the state government and other senior authorities would finally decide to put in place the routine crowd management system after analysing daily footfall in the temple as well as the rush at special occasions.

“Felt so delighted, my life’s aim has been fulfilled. Our ancestors struggled for this and it has been brought to fruition. The arrangement should continue like this and the name of Lord Ram should reign for ages,” a devotee told PTI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday presided over the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony at the newly constructed Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, governor Anandiben Patel and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat were present during the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol in the temple.