Ayodhya, 23 Jan

A massive crowd that swelled by the hour and became unmanageable in the afternoon thronged the main gateway to the Ram temple here as it opened its doors to the public on Tuesday.

Ram Path -- the main thoroughfare -- was choked as devotees flooded the streets of the temple town, which has been gripped by religious fervour over the inauguration of the grand mandir.

The entry of devotees to the temple complex began at 6 am and about 2.5 lakh people are likely to have visited the temple by 2 pm.
It is estimated that about 5 lakh devotees will have visited by the end of the day, another official said.

Waiting in serpentine queues outside the temple were people who had been camping in Ayodhya since before the consecration ceremony, having made long and difficult journeys to reach the temple town.

An idol of the new Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on Monday, a landmark event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Security personnel struggled to control the crowd as they attempted to enter through the gateway. For a couple hours in the afternoon, the crowd became so huge that the security personnel scrambled to maintain order.

Reportedly, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is upset with the administration as the police who have been unable to manage the crowd.

The entire section of the Ram Path facing the gateway was blocked as many devotees, some of whom landed with suitcases and backpacks, wanted to have a 'darshan'. At the main gateway, the commotion in the crowd led to one devotee fainting and having to be taken for medical treatment.
There was a "sudden massive rush" in the morning and the people were continuously streaming in, seeking to visit the temple and have a darshan of Ram Lalla, Dayal said.

“The administration is taking measures to keep the crowd in order, "with proper holding (area), queuing and proper barricading", Ayodhya Divisional Commissioner Gaurav Dayal told PTI. Uttar Pradesh information director Shishir said more than 8,000 policemen are deployed at the temple and "everything is under control".
Ayodhya police, in a post on X, also refuted rumours that the temple was temporarily closed due to the heavy rush.

Ram Lalla idol to be known as 'Balak Ram'. The new Ram Lalla idol will be known as "Balak Ram" as it depicts the deity as a five-year-old boy in a standing posture. The reason for naming the idol of Lord Ram as 'Balak Ram' is that he resembles a child, whose age is five years," Arun Dixit, a priest associated with the consecration ceremony told PTI.