One person went missing after a boat carrying nine pilgrims capsized on Friday in the Sarayu river in Ayodhya, an official said.

According to the official, while the local divers and SDRF personnel rescued eight persons, a 29-year-old woman identified as Kashish is missing.

“The boat collided with another boat following which it capsized. All those who were onboard the boat wore life jackets. The missing individual also had a life jacket on. Rescue teams are trying to find her,” Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police, Raj Karan Nayyar said.

It has been learned that the incident happened when the boat was trying to make a turn on the river.

Ahmedabad:

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said here on Saturday that his party will defeat the BJP in Gujarat in the next election the same way it did in Ayodhya in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha made the remark while addressing a party workers’ convention in Ahmedabad.

“They (BJP) have challenged us by threatening us and damaging our office. Let me tell you that we are together going to break their government like they damaged our office. Take it in writing that Congress will contest in Gujarat and defeat Narendra Modi and BJP in Gujarat like we did in Ayodhya,” Mr Gandhi said.

Congress will win Gujarat, and make a new start from the state, he said.

He was referring to a clash that broke out between members of both Congress and BJP outside the Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, Congress’s state headquarters, in Paldi area of Ahmedabad on July 2 after BJP’s youth wing members came there to protest against Mr Gandhi’s remarks on Hindus.

According to police, both sides engaged in stone-pelting, in which five policemen, including an Assistant Commissioner of Police, were injured.

In his speech, the former Congress chief also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the BJP’s defeat from the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya is located.

“People of Ayodhya felt angry when they found that not a single local person was invited for the Ram Mandir’s inauguration,” he said.

He also claimed that PM Modi wanted to contest from Ayodhya, but his surveyors advised him against doing so saying he will be defeated and his political career will end. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ayodhya:

Water was leaking from the roof of the sanctum sanctorum at the Ram temple after the first heavy showers since it was opened to the public, its chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das said on Monday.

Alleging negligence in the construction of the temple, Acharya Das claimed that there was also no arrangement for the drainage of rainwater from the temple premises after the showers on Saturday midnight and urged the temple authorities to take necessary corrective measures.

After the senior officials were informed about the incident of water leaking from the roof, the chairman of the temple construction committee, Nripendra Mishra, reached the temple and gave instructions to repair the roof and make them waterproof, temple trust sources said.

Speaking separately to reporters about the progress of temple construction, Mr Mishra said that work on the first floor was on and will be finished by July this year, and expressed the hope that the construction of the temple will be completed by December.

Acharya Satyendra Das told reporters there was heavy leakage from the roof of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum in the first heavy showers that occurred at midnight on Saturday. Rainwater was leaking from the roof directly above the place where the priest sits in front of Ram Lalla’s idol and where people come for VIP darshan, he said.

“It is very surprising that engineers from all over the country are building the Ram temple. The temple was inaugurated on January 22. But, no one knew that if it rains, the roof will leak. It is surprising that the roof of a world-famous temple is leaking. Why did this happen?” “Such an incident is happening in the presence of such big engineers, which is very wrong,” he said.

Meanwhile, rains on Saturday night caused severe waterlogging on the Rampath road and its adjoining laneshere. While sewer water entered houses in the area, the Rampath road and other newly constructed roads in Ayodhya caved in at some places.

There was waterlogging from Jalwanpura to Hanumangarhi Bhaktipath and from Tedhi Bazaar to the inner areas, locals said.

Reacting to the sewer water entering houses in the lanes of Rampath during the rain, Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi said, “I have started damage control since morning. I have deployed several teams of the municipality to remove water from the houses.” However, attempts to seek the response of top officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) did not fructify.

Meanwhile, the Congress accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of indulging in corruption in the temple construction and building of civic facilities in the temple town.

“Be it the coffin of the martyrs or the temple of God, all these have become opportunities for corruption for the BJP. Even the symbols of faith and purity in the country are just opportunities of loot for them,” Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged in a statement on Monday.

“It has become clear from the statement of chief priest Satyendra Das that water is leaking in the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram temple built at a cost of crores due to the first rain and there is no proper drainage system,” he said.

Rai said, “Not only this, the mask of the BJP, which was beating the drum of development of Ayodhya, has come off with the road collapsing at many places on the Rampath built at a cost of Rs 624 crore.” He alleged that the BJP has made Ayodhya a “hub of corruption by getting second-rate construction done in a hurry only to gain electoral benefits”.

“The BJP has only done injustice to the people there by not giving them proper compensation,” he alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A museum to showcase rich architectural traditions of Indian temples will be built in Ayodhya and 25 acres of land has been identified for the project following a suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the city should take up projects to ensure an extended stay of pilgrims visiting the Ram temple.

PM Modi made the suggestion to senior functionaries of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust who met him on October 25 to invite him for the consecration ceremony at the under-construction Ram temple on January 22. The prime minister agreed to it and said he felt blessed that he would witness the historic occasion.

Sources said a host of other projects are also being undertaken in Ayodhya on these lines so that pilgrims arriving in the town to pay obeisance at the Ram temple find enough reasons to stay for a long period.

During his interaction with the trust’s members, sources said, the prime minister told that people’s faith in God may bring them to holy places but it does not necessarily guarantee their extended stay. This can only be ensured through other efforts, he said, making his suggestions, they added.

PM Modi’s philosophy is the driving force behind multiple projects being taken up in Ayodhya and the idea behind them is to ensure that people visiting the city do not only see the temple but stay there for a few days to see other attractions as well, sources said.

A major project being taken up on these lines is the museum to showcase architectures of Indian temples. It will display various facets of the rich architectural traditions of temples from across the country.

Other projects include the ‘Ram Charit Manas Experience Centre’ which will depict the life of Lord Ram in an engaging manner while a world-class wax museum will depict various subjects related to Ram’s era, they said.

A mega multimedia foundation park is also being constructed in the shape of a lotus flower besides projects such as Ayodhya Haat and Ayodhya Aerocity.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate a Ram Mandir-themed Durga Puja Pandal at Santosh Mitra Square in north Kolkata on October 16.

This unique pandal, organized by the Santosh Mitra Square Puja Committee, is modelled after the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Kolkata and inaugurate this Durga Puja pandal.

According to BJP leader Sajal Ghosh, the inauguration ceremony is set to take place at 4 PM in the Santosh Mitra Square Puja. This particular Durga Puja is also known as Sajay Ghosh’s Puja. The theme for this year’s celebration is the Ram Temple, inspired by the ongoing construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The pandal at Santosh Mitra Square has been beautifully decorated.

It’s worth mentioning that Amit Shah previously inaugurated Puja pandals during the 2021 Assembly elections in Kolkata. The BJP itself organized Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal during that time, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually present for the inauguration.