Rituals for temple in Ayodhya begin

LUCKNOW:A group of priests began two days of Vedic rituals in Ayodhya on Monday as part of the preparations for the construction of a Ram temple in the town. A meeting scheduled on April 4 for announcing the date on which construction would start is, meanwhile, likely to be postponed because of the coronavirus disease outbreak.

The date was due to be announcedafterthesecondmeeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, constituted by the Centre to oversee the construction of the temple, in Ayodhya.

“In view of coronavirus scare meeting of the Trust which is scheduled in Ayodhya on April 4 is likely to be postponed. However, any official information about cancellation of the meeting will be given by the Trust,” said a prominent saint of Ayodhya who did not wish to be quoted.

The rituals that began on Monday are a part of the preparations in the first phase of the temple construction and will involve the shifting of Ram Lalla idol from a makeshift to a prefabricated temple. No journalists or anybody other than priests were allowed during these rituals amid a partial lockdown in Ayodhya as part of measures put in place to check the coronavirus spread.

Priests Koteshwar Sharma (Andhra Pradesh), Kirti Kant Sharma (New Delhi) and Ashok Tewari (Uttar Pradesh) are among others performing the rituals. “Vedic rituals began at Ram Janmabhoomi [birthplace] at 7 am today [Monday] for shifting of Ram Lalla from the sanctumsanctorum [makeshift temple]. These rituals will continue till Tuesday,” said Champat Rai, a member of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tieerth Kshetra Trust. “In early hours of Wednesday, Ram Lalla will be shifted to a new location.”

The Ayodhya administration has prohibited the entry of all outsiders into the town until April 2 after devotees were asked not to come to the town for Navratri.