Ayodhya/Varanasi, May 25 (PTI) The first anniversary of the consecration of idol of Raja Ram — Lord Ram as the king — at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya will be celebrated on Tuesday on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra.
Anil Mishra, member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said that Ram Lalla will be offered ‘Chhappan Bhog’ on the occasion.
Besides, special adornment of Ram Darbar, installed in June last year on the first floor of the Ram temple, will be done, and ‘abhishek’ and ‘puja-archana’ will be held, he said.
Recitation of the Valmiki Ramayan will be held on the first floor, while the temple complex will resonate with devotional songs in the evening.
On June 5, 2025, the idol of Raja Ram was consecrated and the Ram Darbar inaugurated at the temple complex in Ayodhya. The Ram Darbar also features the idols of Sita, Lakshman, Bharat, Shatrughan and Hanuman.
In view of the Ganga Dussehra festival, District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi and Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover inspected the Saryu ghats and Ram Ki Paidi in Ayodhya to ensure smooth arrangements, safety and convenience for devotees.
Ganga Dussehra is celebrated to mark the descent of the holy Ganga on the Earth from heaven.
During the inspection, the officials reviewed cleanliness at the ghats, lighting arrangements, barricading, drinking water supply, security arrangements, and traffic management.
The DM directed the concerned officials to ensure that devotees visiting on Ganga Dussehra face no inconvenience and that all necessary arrangements are put in place in time.
The SSP, while reviewing the security arrangements, issued necessary directives regarding adequate deployment of police force, CCTV surveillance and crowd management.
The DM also directed the municipal corporation and concerned departments to maintain continuous cleanliness at the ghats and pay special attention to issues such as waterlogging and slippery surfaces.
He also appealed to devotees to follow the guidelines issued by the administration and cooperate in ensuring that the festival is celebrated in a peaceful and clean environment.
In Varanasi, special worship of Mother Ganga will be performed across the 84 ghats on the occasion of Ganga Dussehra.
Sushant Mishra, president of the Ganga Seva Nidhi, said that special rituals dedicated to Mother Ganga will be conducted on this auspicious occasion.
In the evening, an ‘abhishek’ of Mother Ganga will be performed using 51 litres of milk.
Renowned Kathak artistes from the Banaras Gharana — Pandit Mata Prasad Mishra and his son Rudrashankar Mishra will perform on the occasion.
Eleven priests will perform the ‘aarti’ of Mother Ganga at Dashashwamedh Ghat, while 22 young women will participate as symbolic representations of ‘Riddhi’ and ‘Siddhi’.
Similar programmes and rituals will be held near the Sheetla Mata Temple, Dinesh Shankar Dubey of the Gangotri Seva Samiti said.
Meanwhile, in Mathura, Ganga Dussehra was celebrated on Monday, with thousands of devotees taking a holy dip in the Yamuna, a senior official said.
Flood unit of PAC, SDRF, and divers were deployed to deal with any untoward incident, the official said.
Nagar Nigam was told to ensure cleanliness, ADM Amresh Kumar said.
It is customary to take permission of Yamuna and Ganga before taking dip in the river, Sanjay Chaturvedi of Alpine Sewayat at Sri Yamuna temple said. PTI COR NAV KVK KVK
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