Ram festival in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak

The ‘Ram Kot Parikrama’, a major religious event that marks the beginning of Ram Navami (Lord Rama’s birthday), has been cancelled due to the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in India.

The festival was initially supposed to be held in Ayodhya next week, starting on March 24 but was called off by the organising committee.

“There are many such important ‘parikramas’ (the act of circling an object of worship) that we organise in Ayodhya. This is one event and was scheduled for March 24, but the coronavirus is a national and international threat. We don’t want anyone to get infected here, so we have suspended the event,” NDTV quoted Mahant Raj Kumar Das, a member of the organising committee as saying.

The committee has also requested people not to visit the temple or bath in the Sarayu river.

This comes after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to people not to assemble at religious places that are likely to be crowded.

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According to the data released by the Union health ministry, Uttar Pradesh is one of the most affected states with regard to COVID-19. A total of 23 cases have been reported from UP so far, and the state government has been shutting down theatres, gyms, malls, and educational institutions as part of the preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus.

People have also been urged to implement the work from home policy.

Lakhs of people are expected to turn up at Ayodhya for the Ram Navami festival. However, the state government has not issued any orders yet to stop transportation facilities into the city or seal its borders.

Usually, the Uttar Pradesh government puts up barricades to keep the crowds under control and ensures that there are sanitising bathing spots near the ghats for people to ensure hygiene. Sources told NDTV that similar measures might be implemented over the next 48 hours.