Krishna's home Mathura celebrates Ram temple consecration; 700 temples organise activities

Mathura (UP): From Sunder Kand recitals to sand art decorations, the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya’s Ram temple is being celebrated with great fervour here with over 700 temples decked up to mark the occasion.

All major intersections of Mathura, home to the Krishna Janmasthan Temple, have been decorated and ‘bhandaras’ (community kitchen) have been set up in many parts of the city.

At the Radha-Krishna mandir inside the temple complex, the idols were given the appearance of Lord Ram and Sita, said Kapil Sharma, secretary of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Seva Sansthan.

The idol of Lord Krishna at the Banke Bihari Temple held a bow and arrow, besides the standard flute, in a nod to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of ‘Ram Lalla’ in Ayodhya.

Thakur Dwarkadhish Temple has been decorated with lights and lamps would be donated in the evening. ‘Prasad’ was distributed at the temple from 10 am to 11 am.

Sunder Kand recitals were held and devotees sang songs in the morning at the Keshavdev Temple, which was festooned for the occasion.

The Govardhan intersection (Atal Chowk) drew a huge crowd for a sand art of Ram temple – the creation of artist Sameer from Jhansi.

At Deorha Ghat and Kanha Gaushala, sand art of the temple and Lord Ram were created by artists from Odisha using sand from the Yamuna, said Gopal Vashishtha, tax inspector at the Vrindavan office of the municipal corporation.

Customers have been swarming the markets for the past two days. Earthen lamps, other lighting devices, flags etc. have been sold in abundance.

A ‘deepotsav’ will be held at Devraha Baba Ghat at 4 pm while various cultural programmes have been planned at Jugal Ghat, which has been bedecked with a ‘rangoli’ made with 500 kg flowers, said a senior district administration official.

District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey said that consecration ceremony-related events are being organised in about 700 temples in the district.

Security has been tightened in the city with heavy police deployment. Hotels, ashrams and guest houses are being checked and the city is being monitored by drones, officials said. The police force was alert in the city and special security arrangements have been made, SSP Pandey said.

The SSP said that only local residents are allowed entry on the route leading to Shahi Idgah. Relatives of locals are being given entry after inquiry, he said, adding that the security at other temples, including Banke Bihari Temple, has also been increased.

The new Ram Lalla idol was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, an event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.