New Year Rush: Massive Crowds at Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar as Devotees Flock for Darshan

Ahead of the New Year, a massive surge of devotees has been witnessed at major religious destinations including Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar and Ujjain. Thousands of pilgrims from across the country are arriving to begin the New Year with prayers and temple visits. Visuals from Ayodhya show extremely long queues of devotees stretching far beyond Hanumangarhi, with several routes temporarily blocked due to overwhelming crowds. The Ram Janmabhoomi area is witnessing unprecedented footfall as devotees chant “Jai Shri Ram” and wait patiently for darshan. Hotels, dharamshalas and resorts in Ayodhya are reported to be fully booked as pilgrims choose to spend the last day of the year in the holy city. The administration has deployed additional security personnel, medical teams and ambulances, and crowd management measures such as barricades and separate queues to ensure safety. Similar scenes are being reported from Ujjain, where lakhs of devotees are visiting the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga on the occasion of the New Year. Temple authorities estimate that nearly 10 lakh devotees may visit Mahakal Mandir during this period. In view of the crowd, special arrangements have been made and VVIP privileges have been curtailed to facilitate smooth darshan for common devotees. Authorities across these pilgrimage centres remain on high alert to manage the massive influx safely.