Ayodhya: Thousands of people are expected to arrive when the Ram Lalla is consecrated next month, and the authorities in Ayodhya are not taking anything for granted.
From the setting up of a police station dedicated to tourist assistance, to the bifurcation and trifurcation of police stations to ensure better management of the jurisdictions they oversee, many steps are being taken to ramp up security in the temple town and ensure the visiting devotees always have help at hand.
A dozen tourist help centres will be set up at major points across Ayodhya for the same purpose, and efforts are being made to cater to different Indian languages.
The tourist police station, police officers told ThePrint, will be created near the Ayodhya international airport. As of now, the main Kotwali Nagar police station will see its jurisdiction divided into three areas, while the Kotwali Ayodhya police station will be bifurcated, with more in the pipeline.
“The intention is to ensure seamless travel for the visitors. If a visitor is unable to find a spot or is stuck, they can visit their nearby tourist help desk where they will be shown the way,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Raj Nayyar.
“The tourist help desks will have constables and a supervisor of the sub-inspector rank. The constables and the sub-inspector are being trained on how to cater to the huge influx of devotees,” he added.
The Ram Lalla — infant deity Ram — is all set to be consecrated at the Ayodhya Ram temple on 24 January 2024, in a big-ticket ceremony to be attended by PM Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, among others.
Invites have also been sent to dignitaries from different fields: Business to cinema and sport.
Apart from this, multiple tent cities have been set up to accommodate the visiting devotees as Ayodhya looks to ramp up its image as a religious tourism destination.
The temple is being built on the Ram Janmabhoomi, believed to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Ram. The 16th-century Babri masjid earlier stood at the site and was demolished exactly 31 years ago.
The temple construction began after a decades-long legal battle ended with the Supreme Court awarding the disputed site to the Hindus in 2019.
Also Read: Tent cities for 1 lakh visitors to 2,000 public toilets — Ayodhya prepares for Ram temple opening
LEDs, flex boards and division of police stations
The authorities in Ayodhya are trying to make sure no tourist finds themselves lost or confused during the event.
They are putting up signage and mobile flex boards at important spots, and 12 LED screens across Ayodhya will give real-time updates on which route they should take, vacant parking lots, the nearest help centre, and hotel availability.
“The LEDs will be put up at all the major entry points to the Ayodhya dham kshetra, including for tourists coming from Gorakhpur and Basti (neighbouring district to the east). An LED screen will be installed at Sahadatganj for people coming from Lucknow,” the SSP said. “Even near the Saryu bridge, a screen will be installed for visitors coming from the Gonda side (neighbouring district to Ayodhya’s northeast).”
Police officers said the signs to be put up are being prepared in Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati.
The police will also be encouraging people to use the ‘Bashini application’, which was created eight months ago by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to help citizens access governance and police-related information in their own language.
In addition, 200 new CCTV cameras have been installed near the temple, and a control room has been set up.
“There will also be radio communication. In Ayodhya district, there are 9,000 cameras. We have 700 cameras that are interconnected with our control rooms and public address system so that we can give information,” a senior police officer said.
900 personnel of UP Special Security Force to guard temple
The security arrangements for the 70-acre temple compound will include the deployment of around nine companies — or 900 personnel — of the Uttar Pradesh Special Security Force (UPSSF), which was set up in 2020 to guard important establishments in the state.
On the day of the consecration, personnel from other UP districts will aid the local police, as will teams of paramilitary and the National Security Guard.
Talking about the arrangements for day-to-day management after the consecration, another senior police officer said, “During festival time, we are planning on crowd management by creating diversion schemes, limiting the access to the main road leading to the temple, and creating holding places where the crowd can stay.”
“We are also planning a transportation model where visitors and local residents rely more on public transport instead of private vehicles.”
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)
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