Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the whole world is waiting for the historic Ram temple consecration ceremony here on January 22, but appealed to people not to come to the city for the event. He urged the public to visit the temple after the consecration ceremony.
He said some people have been invited and they should come to the temple town to witness the historic day. The prime minister was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the renovated Ayodhya Dham railway station and Maharshi Valmiki International Airport in the city. He said the strength of “Vikas” (development) and “Virasat” (heritage) will take the country forward.
“I have a request to all. Everyone has a wish to come to Ayodhya to be a part of the event on January 22. But you know it is not possible for everyone to come. Therefore, I request all Ram devotees that once the formal programme is done on January 22, they should come to Ayodhya at their convenience, do not make up their minds to come to Ayodhya on the day,” he added.
The PM urged all citizens to light diyas in their houses on January 22 so that the whole country bask in glory. He urged people to launch cleanliness drive at pilgrimage sites and temples across the country from January 14 and January 22. There was a time when Lord Ram was “living under a tent”, but now he will get a concrete house like four crore poor who got pucca houses, he said.
Prime Minister Modi inaugurated phase-1 of state-of-the-art Maharishi Valmiki International Airport at Ayodhya Dham on Saturday afternoon. The airport can handle 10 lakh passengers annually.
Earlier, Modi inaugurated the redeveloped Ayodhya Dham junction and flagged off two Amrit Bharat trains and six Vande Bharat trains. The railway station was redeveloped at a cost of more than Rs 240 crore and it is equipped with all modern features like lifts, escalators, food plazas, shops for puja needs, cloakrooms, child care rooms, and waiting halls.