April 21: Ayodhya administration has cancelled the Ram Navmi Mela that was supposed to take place today i.e, on April 21. The decision came after the district witnessed a sharp and sudden rise in the Covid-19 cases.
The Ram Navmi fair or mela is among the major crowd pullers in the country as it attracts the devotees from across the country on the last day of Navratra. However, given the current circumstances when Covid is suddenly rising, the celebrations have been called off as an attempt to stop the increasing cases.
Also, the administration has ordered shuting down Ayodhya’s borders. Including the seers from Haridwar Kumbh, no one will be allowed to enter Ayodhya. In order to offer prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple, the religious fair was supposed to be attended by the myriad seers.
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Other than this, the district administration has also asked citizens tocelebrate the festival in their home confinements and has also request to avoid visiting temples in the crucial times. Amid the worst of the coronavirus wave, the Ram Ki Paidi at Ayodhya, alongside the banks of the Saryu River, a place that used to be crowded before virus, now looks desserted.
District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha said, “Our priority is to break the corona chain. We have taken all precautionary measures and banned all gatherings in Ayodhya.” Acharya Satyendra Das, the chief priest of Ram Janmabhoomi temple, told the media, “There will be no devotees at the temple on`Ram Navmi`this year due to the pandemic. There will be only one priest, on-duty policemen and Ram Lalla Virajman.”