Ayodhya, Amrit Vichar: On the occasion of Kartik Purnima, a flood of devotees gathered on the holy banks of Saryu river on Wednesday. According to administrative estimates, about 20 lakh devotees took a dip of faith in the holy Saryu. The wave of devotion started running on the ghats from Tuesday night itself, the bathing phase started in the morning during Brahma Muhurta. The situation of the crowd was such that the road from Snan Ghat via Rampath to Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi was filled with devotees. The process of bathing, worshiping and donating continued throughout the day. Saryu Ghat kept resonating with the slogans of Jai Saryu Maiya and Jai Shri Ram.
About two kilometers along the raw and pucca ghats of Saryu coast till Laxman Ghat. Only a crowd of devotees was visible in the periphery. In the morning the crowd became so large that the police had to demolish the barriers leading to the ghat. However, after 10 o’clock the number of bathers decreased somewhat. After taking a dip in the holy Saryu, a period of charity started. In which donation to Brahmins, distribution of food-clothes to the poor and cow donation were prominent. The Pandas had made additional arrangements in their camps at the ghats.
At the same time, after bathing, the devotees first turned to Nageshwarnath. Barricading was done at about 12 places between Saryu Ghat and this temple. Devotees were allowed to enter the temple in groups. The police present in the sanctum sanctorum kept expelling the devotees immediately after offering water to Bholenath.
Maximum pressure on Hanumangarhi, long queue in Ram temple
-After Saryu Ghat, the maximum pressure of devotees was on Hanumangarhi. Devotees started arriving here from early morning after taking bath. About one km from the temple complex to Rampath. There was a queue of devotees till the distance. This pressure increased further between seven and eight in the morning. After which the devotees started being allowed entry in groups. The devotees coming out from the exit gate were allowed to go to Rampath from the back side only. At the same time, there was a long queue of devotees at the Ram temple, the queue of rural women singing folk songs and bhajans was attracting people a lot. Here also an exit was made from Angad mound. Apart from this, crowd was also seen at Kanak Bhawan, Dashrath Mahal, Maniram Dasji’s Cantonment, Hanuman Bagh and other major math temples.
3:50 lakh devotees visited Ram temple and 5 lakh visited Hanuman Garhi.
On Kartik Purnima, about 3.50 lakh devotees visited the Ram temple. The number of devotees visiting Hanuman Garhi temple is said to be around 5 lakh. There was a long queue at the temple till late evening due to the crowd which started from Brahma Muhurta. Gopal Ji Rao, a member of the religious committee of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that the door of the sanctum sanctorum was opened at 6:15 in the morning, before the scheduled time. Seeing the crowd in the morning, the darshan had started even before the Shringar Aarti. The devotees coming during this time can also see the Shringaar Aarti. Like every day, people who participate in Shringar Aarti have been included in the Aarti of Ram Darbar on the first floor. At the same time, in Siddha Peeth Hanumangarhi temple, the temple was opened for darshan only at 3.30.
Ayodhya Dham remains a no vehicle zone, no entry of heavy vehicles on the highway
-In view of the possibility of huge crowd coming, the police administration had already declared Ayodhya Dham as no vehicle zone. Along with the police, traffic police personnel were also deployed at the barriers installed at Saket Petrol Pump, Hanuman Cave, Ramghat, Booth Number 4, Chudamani Square, Udaya Square, Vidyakund, Saket Gas Agency, Nishad Raj Square and other places. Devotees were being allowed to come to Ayodhya Dham only on foot.
Water police kept stopping people from going into deep water by blowing whistle and announcing through PAS
Along with security at the ghats, there were strict security arrangements in the river area also. Pre-deployed SDRF, Water Police and PAC flood relief teams were deployed here. An NDRF team was also deployed. Security personnel equipped with life saving resources kept stopping the devotees from going into deep water by blowing whistles and through public address system. Local divers and sailors were also deployed for security reasons. Water police personnel were seen patrolling the river area on boats.
Long queue of vehicles seen on the highway
After the parking was full, there was a queue of vehicles on the service lane, sand ghat and both the tracks of the road on the Gorakhpur-Ayodhya-Lucknow highway. There was a traffic jam on the new bridge for hours in the morning. The traffic personnel had to work hard to remove the vehicles from the road. Barricading was installed on the road leading to the service lane from both ends of the overbridge, from here only two-wheelers were being allowed.
Special arrangements were made for crowd control and security. To prevent slipping, a layer of sand was laid on the ghats, anti-skid nets were installed and lighting systems were strengthened. Paramilitary forces, PAC, police, home guards and ATS were deployed by dividing the entire fair area into zones and sectors. Separate zones were created for traffic diversion and parking. Surveillance was maintained through drones and CCTV.-Dr. Gaurav Grover, SSP.
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