New Delhi: Amid the massive surge in devotees visiting Ayodhya due to the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj has led to changes in the ‘darshan’ (worship) timings at the Ram Mandir. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has extended the temple’s opening hours and revised the aarti timings to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims.
According to the updated schedule, the temple will now remain open from 5am to 10pm daily. Earlier, the temple used to open for devotees at 6am. The Mangala Aarti, which was earlier conducted at 4.30am, will now take place at 4am, after which the temple doors will be closed briefly before reopening for the day.
Change in timings
The Shringar Aarti will take place at 6am. Rajbhog will be performed at 12 noon. The Sandhya Aarti is now scheduled for 7pm, during which the temple doors will be briefly closed for 15 minutes before reopening. The final aarti of the day, Shayan Aarti, will now take place at 10pm instead of 9.30pm, following which the temple doors will be shut for the night.
Ayodhya has seen a large number of devotees after the consecration of the Ram Mandir in January, 2024. Maha Kumbh, taking place around 160km away in Prayagraj, has added to the influx of devotees in the temple town. According to reports, around 32.98 crore tourists visited the state in the first half of 2024, mostly to Ayodhya and Varanasi.
Traffic and crowd management measures
Between January 26 and February 3 this year, over one crore devotees arrived in Ayodhya, particularly around Basant Panchami. The surge in visitors led to severe congestion on highways leading to Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura.
With an estimated 7 to 9 lakh pilgrims arriving in Ayodhya daily, local authorities have implemented heavy traffic diversions. Entry to the temple town is being regulated based on crowd density. Given the overwhelming footfall, authorities have advised visitors to postpone their plans for at least the next 10 to 15 days to avoid inconvenience.
