Ayodhya: Waves of saffron, folk performances, and a sea of people eager to catch a glimpse. All eyes were on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a cold winter’s day as he made his way from Ayodhya Dham Junction to Maharishi Valmiki International Airport on the newly revamped Ram Path — a road that leads straight to the Ram temple.
Less than a month to go for the much-anticipated grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Modi was the city Saturday to inaugurate the newly redeveloped airport and railway station. He also opened to the public four major roads — Ram Path, Bhakti Path, Dharam Path, and Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Path, all of which lead to the temple — and laid foundation stones for a few other projects.
The roadshow was 15 km long, punctuated at regular intervals with stages set up for folk artistes to perform. A total of 1,400 artistes participated in the event.
The event Saturday is a mood-setter for the temple inauguration, which comes six months before the general election.
Here are glimpses of Modi’s visit and how Ayodhya decked up in preparation for it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the city’s redeveloped railway station, the Ayodhya Dham Junction, and flagged off eight new trains | Praveen Jain | ThePrint