Ram Temple deluged with devotees, Yogi rushes to Ayodhya

Lucknow: A huge rush of devotees thronged the Ram Temple, which was thrown open to the public on Tuesday, a day after the 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) of Ram Lala, triggering a chaos in and around the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex and forcing the authorities to suspend bus services to Ayodhya and close the Lucknow-Ayodhya highway temporarily besides appealing to the devotees to keep patience.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who rushed to Ayodhya, conducted an aerial survey of the Ram Temple Complex and directed the officials to ensure a smooth darshan at the Temple to the lakhs of devotees who flocked the Complex after it opened on Tuesday.

According to the sources, more than five lakh devotees were expected to have darshan of Ram Lala at the Ram Temple by the time of closure of the Temple at seven in the evening.

The devotees had started gathering outside the Complex since three in the morning and by the time the Temple gates were opened at 06:30 am, there was a sea of devotees there taking the authorities by surprise. The situation turned chaotic as the devotees tried to outpace one another to reach the Temple giving a tough time to the security personnel.

The videos that went viral on social media showed the security personnel trying to control the onrushing deluge of the devotees. A few devotees also fell on the ground and were seen being helped by the security personnel.

The number of devotees kept on increasing as the day progressed and by the afternoon, the Temple town was completely packed with the devotees.

Sources said that these devotees many of whom had reached the town two-three days back but could not have darshan following closure of the Temple from Friday night to Monday owing to the consecration ceremony had been staying at various inns, ashrams and mutts in the town and rushed to the Temple once it opened on Tuesday morning.

The Uttar Pradesh government rushed the principal secretary, home and director general of police, law and order to Ayodhya to supervise arrangements to control the surging crowds of devotees.

Sources said that the roads leading to Ayodhya were clogged with vehicles and that no vehicle was being allowed into the town without a valid pass. The district administration has deployed eight magistrates to control the situation and appealed to the devotees to have patience.

The Ayodhya police refuted reports circulating on the social media that the darshan of Ram Lala had been closed temporarily. ''The report is fake....we are committed to ensure that no devotee returns from Ayodhya without having darshan of Ram Lala...the devotees are being allowed to have darshan at the Temple,'' the police said in a post on social media.

Police officials in the neighbouring Barabanki district said that the vehicles going toward Ayodhya were being diverted to some other route and appealed to the devotees to avoid going to the Temple town Sources also said that barricades had been put up on the borders of the district to restrict entry of vehicles.

Sources said that the officials had not anticipated such a huge crowd. ''Usually we expect such a huge crowd of devotees on Kartik Purnima and Ramnavami,'' said a district official in Ayodhya. The officials expected the situation to improve in a day or two as the devotees, who had assembled in Ayodhya, would start leaving for their hometowns after having darshan of Ram Lala.