CHANDIGARH, Jan 22 : Immersed in devotion, people thronged temples, organised ‘shobha yatras’ and ‘langars’ at many places in Haryana and Punjab to celebrate the consecration ceremony at the newly constructed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on Monday.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union minister Som Parkash and several Punjab ministers attended religious events held on the occasion of the consecration of the new Ram Lalla idol at the Ayodhya temple, an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and watched by lakhs of people on television at their homes and in temples across the country.
Khattar watched the live telecast of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ at an event in Karnal, where he also offered prayers at a temple. He also raised “Jai Shri Ram” slogans and danced to the tune of ‘Ram bhajans’.
He said the wishes of crores of people of the country and around the world have been fulfilled today as the “long wait of 500 years has come to an end” with the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.
In the evening, the chief minister lit ‘diyas’ at his official residence in Chandigarh.
“Today every Indian, no matter which part of the world he is living in, is overwhelmed with devotion towards Shri Ram,” Khattar said in a post on X.
“The struggle of our generations and the resolve of centuries has been completed today and every virtuous soul who has sacrificed for the upliftment of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi will attain spiritual peace today,” the post added.
Punjab Governor and Chandigarh UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit watched the live telecast of the consecration ceremony at the Raj Bhavan which was decorated with flowers and colourful lights on the occasion.
“Along with the people of India, I too had been waiting for this divine occasion for a long time, which has concluded with such grandeur today,” an official statement quoted the governor as saying.
“We all are fortunate that we got the opportunity to witness this historic moment in our lives. For this, I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and all concerned,” Purohit added.
As religious fervour swept both Punjab and Haryana, saffron flags carrying images of Lord Ram with bow and arrow and the temple dotted streets with devotees singing ‘Ram ayenge, mere ghar Ram ayenge’ and other ‘bhajans’ in shobha yatras (processions).
With chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram, Jai Siya Ram’ renting the air during a shobha yatra in Amritsar, one of the devotees participating in the processions said, “It is an emotional and joyous moment for everyone as this day came after a 500-year long wait.”
Priests performed puja at decked-up temples, while ‘havans’ were also held at several places on the occasion.
Union minister Som Parkash, who took part in a shobha yatra here, said Lord Ram represented the collective consciousness of the country as well as mankind.
“Ram belongs to all and we are lucky to be part of the historic occasion as it had happened after 500 years of long wait and persistent struggle,” said the minister.
Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a post on X, said, “Lord Shri Ram is the symbol of everyone’s faith and we all have faith in him. Siyavar Ramchandra ki Jai.”
In Haryana’s Sirsa, Haryana Lokhit Party chief and legislator Gopal Kanda called the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ a “historic” event for the country. He participated in a shobha yatra and unveiled a 31-feet tall Lord Ram statue during a function.
To mark the grand event, roads leading to temples at many places in Punjab and Haryana were given a facelift. Giant LED screens were put up at some temple complexes to enable people to watch the live telecast of the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ rituals from Ayodhya.
Despite the bone-chilling cold wave conditions, devotees made a beeline to offer prayers in temples at several places, including Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Gurugram, Rohtak, Faridabad, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Pathankot.
Many shopkeepers and commercial establishments in both states held ‘langars’ (community feast) and distributed tea, fruits and biscuits.
People were seen thronging markets to buy earthen lamps and decorative lights as a festive atmosphere prevailed in the twin states and their common capital Chandigarh.
Volunteers of various outfits visited door-to-door and distributed flags and diyas (earthen lamps) to people.
In Panchkula, BJP MLA and Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta distributed ‘laddoos’ to the public to celebrate the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony.
Several Punjab ministers including Harpal Singh Cheema, Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Lalchand Kataruchak, Aman Arora and Bram Shanker Jimpa also attended religious programmes in their respective assembly constituencies.
Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa also participated in religious programmes at temples in Qadian in Gurdaspur and congratulated people on the occasion of the consecration ceremony.
In Amritsar, special religious events were organised at the Durgiana temple and Bhagwan Shri Balmik temple.
In Gurugram, more than 1,000 cops were deployed across the city and tight security arrangement were made outside temples and mosques, police spokesperson Subhash Boken said.
The Ayodhya event was telecasted live at several temples and bhandaras were organised at about 250 places in the city. (PTI)
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