We will make Ayodhya the pride of the world: Yogi
LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath offered prayers in Ayodhya on Saturday and said the temple town will become the pride of the world as he asked saints to celebrate Diwali there on August 5 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple at Ram Janmabhoomi.
Addressing saints at Karsevakpuram, he observed that the auspicious occasion of bhumi pujan had come after 500 years and said that the entire country had been waiting for it.
He appealed to people to light diyas (earthen lamp) in every house and temple in Ayodhya and to keep the city clean for the historic occasion.
The chief minister was reviewing preparations for the bhumi pujan.
“The prime minister will be visiting Ayodhya. We’ll make Ayodhya the pride of India and the world. Cleanliness should be the first condition. There is an opportunity for Ayodhya to prove through self-discipline its capability and be the way the world expects to see it,” Adityanath
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said, according to an official statement.
“There will be ‘deepotsava’ in all houses and temples on the nights of 4th and 5th August. Deepawali is associated with Ayodhya and the festival cannot even be imagined without Ayodhya,” he added.
He said Covid-19 protocols would have to be followed while making sure that the foundation stone-laying ceremony was grand and one-of-a-kind. A special cleanliness drive should begin on Sunday and the work should be completed by August 3, he added.
The chief minister also said 11,000 diyas (earthen lamps) will be lit at Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of the Saryu river in Ayodhya.
After reaching Ayodhya, the chief minister went to Ram Janmabhoomi where he paid obeisance to Ram Lalla at the makeshift Ram temple.
Adityanath placed the idols of Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan on the new ‘asans’ on three
silver thrones at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site with full Vedic rituals. reached Ayodhya in the afternoon and took part in a ‘puja’.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust member Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, who is also known as Ayodhya Naresh, presented these three silver thrones to the Trust. Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi, performed the rituals. Yogi Adityanath also met the members of the Trust.
Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, apprised the chief minister of preparations being made for the bhumi pujan. The chief minister also chaired a meeting of officials at Manas Bhawan, near Ram Janmabhoomi campus and issued instructions to officials.
“The chief minister inspected the sanctum sanctorum at the Ram Janmabhoomi where PM Modi will lay foundation stone of Ram temple. He also reviewed preparations for bhumi pujan,” said Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, successor designate of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.Yogi Adityanath also reviewed progress of ongoing development projects in Ayodhya. Thereafter, he went to Hanuman Garhi temple, offered prayers there and proceeded to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas Karyashala where Rai apprised him of the carved stone slabs lying there. While the carving of several pillars and stones been going on for some time at the temple workshop inside the premises, it will gain pace after the ceremony.
From the Karyashala, the chief minister went to Karsevakpuram where he addressed saints. Trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and all other prominent saints of Ayodhya were present at this meeting. Adityanath apprised saints about constraints on the number of invitees for the bhumi pujan due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 200 people are likely to be invited for the bhumi pujan. He requested the saints to attend the ceremony only after they get an invite from Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust. Adityanath also urged saints not to bring any additional person along with them as only limited people were invited in order to ensure social distancing during the ceremony.The chief minister assured the saints of their overall welfare in a timebound manner. The CM inspected a helipad being constructed at Saket Degree College for the PM’s visit.
Pre-construction activity began at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on May 11 after Centre allowed construction work across the country while gradually easing the Covid-19 lockdown.UP’s culture minister Neelkanth Tiwari, Trust members, additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi, divisional commissioner MP Agarwal, Ayodhya DM Anuj Jha and others officials were also present during Adityanath’s visit.