Officials urge pontiff to put off march to Ayodhya

PRAYAGRAJ : Officials of the Ayodhya district administration met Jyotishpeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati at the Mankameshwar temple here on Wednesday and urged him to put off his proposed march to the temple town as the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute was pending in the Supreme Court.

Unmoved by the pleas of the officials, the Shankaracharya reiterated his decision to begin the march, dubbed ‘Ramagreh Yatra’, for Ayodhya as per schedule on February 17, said Brahmachari Shri Dharanand, acharya of the Mankameshwar temple of Prayagraj and a representative of the Shankaracharya.

The Shankaracharya had earlier announced that he, along with other sadhus, would perform shilanyas of Ram temple in Ayodhya on February 21.

During their meeting with him, additional district magistrate PD Gupta and additional superintendent of police (security) Tribhuwan Tripathi of the Ayodhya administration pointed out to the seer that status quo was being maintained at the Ayodhya site.

They also told the top seer that if the march was undertaken and ‘shilanyas’ or laying of foundation stone was attempted at the site now, it could create a serious law and order problem and pose a challenge for the Ayodhya administration.

Seers closely associated with the Shankaracharya said the pontiff planned to start his proposed march from his camp in sector 15 of the Kumbh Mela tent city.

His supporters are expected to begin arriving at the camp from Friday onwards.

The Shankaracharya is expected to briefly address his supporters at 1pm on February 17 and begin the march. The seer and his supporters will halt in Pratapgarh on the first day, and in Sultanpur on the second before entering Ayodhya on February 19.

In Ayodhya, the seer and his supporters will offer prayers at Janki Ghat Bada Sthan and hold a meeting on February 20 followed by consecration of ‘Shri Ram Yantra’ and ‘Bhumipujan’ for Ram temple at an auspicious time on February 21, his supporters said.