A large crowd of devotees arrived in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya on Monday morning, February 17, to visit Ram Mandir. Police security and administrative arrangements have been strained. To avoid traffic jams, the administration has ordered no vehicles in the holy city.
Visuals From Ayodhya
Vehicles are being halted 25 km away, leaving passengers distressed. Due to inadequate police deployment, frustrated travellers were seen breaking barricades. Over 300 police personnel, including RPF and GRP teams deployed to manage the crowd.
Meanwhile, stringent protocols are being enforced at key railway stations in Uttar Pradesh, such as Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mirzapur, following the stampede at the New Delhi railway station and the massive crowds arriving for the Maha Kumbh.
North Central Railway's Shashikant Tripathi told PTI, "We are strictly adhering to the previously established protocols, which were successfully implemented during festivals like Mauni Amavasya and Basant Panchami." At Prayagraj Junction, entry is restricted to the city side, and passengers are kept in a 'holding area' until their train arrives. RPF Inspector Shiv Kumar said that crowd control measures are "effective".