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40 lakh devotees descend on Ayodhya, disrupt local arrangements

By, Ayodhya
Jan 28, 2025 09:46 AM IST

Ayodhya faces major traffic jams as 40 lakh pilgrims arrive post-Mahakumbh, overwhelming local facilities; two elderly devotees died, possibly from cardiac arrest.

After bathing at the Mahakumbh, a large influx of pilgrims is reaching Ayodhya. Some 40 lakh devotees descended on the temple town, choking all the roads leading to Ayodhya. The jam extended up to more than 10 kilometers in every direction.

The sea of devotees in Ayodhya on Monday (HT Photo)
The sea of devotees in Ayodhya on Monday (HT Photo)

The overwhelming number of devotees has disrupted local arrangements, causing extensive traffic jams. This situation is troubling local residents, and despite the administration’s efforts on the ground, they are unable to manage the crowd effectively.

For the first time after the consecration ceremony of Ram temple last year , the crowd was so large that the Ram Temple Trust and the administration were astonished. The entire Ayodhya town, even narrow bylanes including the Parikrama Marg were filled with pilgrims , the arrangements of basic amenities for devotees arranged by Ayodhya Municipal Corporation collapsed completely as the systems of toilets, drinking water, shelter homes all vanished in the flood of pilgrims

Ayodhya IG Pravin Kumar said that it was an unexpected gathering. He said that more than 40 lakh pilgrims thronged to Ayodhya town on Monday morning.

Amid the heavy crowd, two elderly devotees waiting to pay obeisance at the Ram temple were reported to have died. However, the police denied stampede claims.

According to information, two elderly devotees from Haryana who had come to visit the Ram temple, died on Monday. The devotees - a woman and a man - fainted outside the temple and were rushed to Sri Ram Hospital where they were declared dead, hospital sources said.

Both victims were aged above 60 and are yet to be identified. The exact cause of the deaths is not known but officials suspect that they died due to cardiac arrest.

The police said in a statement that some people and groups on social media platforms were claiming that the two devotees died due to the rush of people.

“This is misleading and no such thing happened. Elaborate security arrangements are in place in Ayodhya. The woman devotee died due to cardiac arrest,” a police statement read.

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