To commemorate ‘Pran Pratistha’ of Ram Lalla in Ram Mandir of Ayodhya on Monday, as many as 1,11,111 diyas were lit on the Ayodhya Sarovar Ghat of Mahanadi near Marwaripara in the evening. The Mahanadi Ghat along the ring road bustled with a crowd of devotees who had gathered to celebrate.
The Samaleswari temple also witnessed a higher than usual footfall. Diyas were seen lit in houses in every lane of the city. At many places, devotees were seen drawing rangolis and lighting diya at main chowks beside their shops and business establishments.
Similarly, people across Sundargarh district dipped in festive fervour with a large number of devotees participating in celebrations at various places. Rourkela city faced intermittent traffic jams with an unprecedented rush as people crowded different temples. The Hanuman Vatika complex was filled to the brim while other temples including the Tarini temple, Jagannath temple at sector-3, Vedvyas temple complex too experienced similar scenes. Rourkela's main road wore a festive look with the illumination of shops and buildings as banners with inscriptions of Lord Ram and Hanuman dotted major junctions.
In Jeypore, the temples of Lord Ram and Hanuman witnessed congregation of devotees. Even temples in Koraput, Pujariput, Kotpad, Borrigumma, Dumuriput , Damanjodi were crowded since morning with special rituals conducted at most places. A huge rally was organised from Parabeda to Jeypore Rajnagar where over a lakh of people from different parts of the district congregated. Among others, Jeypore MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati participated in the rally. On the day, two new Ram temples at Jayanagar and Dasmantpur village in Boipariguda block were consecrated.
Meanwhile, a 73-ft Ram temple was consecrated at Fategarh village in Nayagarh district on Monday. Situated atop a hill around 1,600 feet above sea level, the temple was completed through donations from villagers and devotees from across the state on the initiation of Sriram Seva Parishad. However, the residents of Fategarh contributed a major part of the funds. The temple is constructed as per the traditional Odia architecture, said Ram Sahu, the architect. Built with rare Baulamala stones, the temple is being given final touches as around 100-150 are working relentlessly since four years to complete the construction. Thousands of people reached the shrine on the day chanting ‘Jay Sri Ram’.
Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi district saw a large number of people participating in ‘prabhat pheri’ in tune with Ramdhun early in the morning on the day. Temples in Jaipatna, Lanjigarh, Dharamgarh, M.Rampur and Junagarh were crowded as streets wore festive looks with rangoli, religious flags and flowers. Special celebrations were organised in Ramswami and Balaji temples of Bhawanipatna besides kirtan in different locations and offering of ‘anna prasad’ at different places.