No Darshan Of Ram Temple On Jan 22, Only Invitees To Attend Ceremony: Lucknow ADG

Lucknow ADG Piyush Mordia said that common people could have 'darshan' of the temple after January 23.

Devotees won't be able to have 'darshan' of the Ram Temple on January 22, when the consecration ceremony of the temple is scheduled to be held in Ayodhya, said Lucknow Additional Director General of Police, Piyush Mordia on Tuesday. Only those invited will be able to attend the ceremony, he added. 

Speaking to news agency ANI, the ADG said that common people could visit Ayodhya only after January 23 for 'darshan'.

"Darshan of the Ram Temple is not allowed on 20-21-22 January," Mordia said. "Only those invited will be able to attend the ceremony. There is a constraint of space, and at any given time, only a limited number of people can visit the temple. Common people can visit Ayodhya for 'darshan' only after 23rd January," he added. 

Earlier, a procession scheduled for January 17 in Ayodhya city that would have allowed devotees catch a glimpse of the new idol of Ram Lalla ahead of the consecration ceremony was cancelled by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust citing crowd mangement concerns, as per a PTI report.  

Instead, the Trust will arrange a tour of the new idol inside the premises of Ram Janmabhoomi for January 17 only, said a senior functionary of the Trust.  

As per the PTI report, the decision was taken by the officials of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after meeting the Acharyas of Kashi and senior administrative officials.

In the meeting it was discussed that it would be difficult to control the crowd as devotees and pilgrims would rush to have 'darshan' of the new idol of Ram Lalla when it is taken out in the city, according to Ayodhya district administration.