Ram temple ceremony: Half-day for all Central govt offices on Jan 22
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New Delhi: All central government offices will function only half-day on January 22 on the occasion of the Ram temple consecration ceremony scheduled to be held in Ayodhya, Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
All the central government institutions, offices and establishments will be closed for half day till 2.30 p.m. so that the employees can watch live telecast of the opening ceremony of the temple.
“The Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya will be celebrated on 22nd January 2024 across India. To enable employees to participate in the celebrations, it has been decided that all Central Government Offices, Central Institutions and Central Industrial Establishments throughout India will be closed for half day till 1430 hours on 22nd January, 2024,” an office memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) stated.
Preparations are in full swing in Ayodhya as the date for the consecration ceremony nears.
“Doordarshan has made elaborate arrangements for live telecast of the entire event, which will also be shown live on several private TV channels. Arrangements have also been made for screening of the Ayodhya ceremony live on large screens at public places in India and abroad,” reported The Indian Express.
In Karnataka, the state government has clarified it will be a working day for schools. The private school management has planned to live-stream the ceremony for students.
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The Associated Managements of Schools in Karnataka (KAMS) has issued a directive to all its member schools to not announce a holiday for students and to live-stream the consecration ceremony instead, reported The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Chattisgarh and Haryana have announced a school holiday on January 22.
The pran-pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple will be held at 12.30 p.m. on the day, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries from all walks of life.
However, opposition leaders, especially those belonging to the INDIA bloc, have declined the invitation to take part in the event. Congress has said the BJP has made a "political project" out of the temple in Ayodhya.
Other Opposition leaders such as Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal, too, have said they would not be attending the event, citing separate reasons.
The ceremonies at the temple complex began on January 16, seven days before the official inauguration. Specific rituals are being performed every day ahead of the pran-pratishtha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reportedly, taken feedback from Ministers about the preparations for the grand event.
The ministers have been told to light lamps at their homes and feed the poor. They have also been asked to oversee the preparations and accompany residents of their constituencies to Ayodhya on these trips.
PM Modi on Thursday released commemorative postage stamps on the Ram Temple depicting the history and historical moments around the opening of the Ram Temple.
