Ram Navami in times of coronavirus: Why lakhs will gather at Ayodhya despite COVID-19

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Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has announced that the Ayodhya Ram Navami Mela, which draws lakhs of pilgrims from across the country, will be held from March 25 to April 2.

While the Ayodhya Chief Medical Officer (CMO) has raised concerns over a mass gathering amid the COVID-19 outbreak in India, the administration has brushed them aside, The Print has reported.

This move comes close on the heels of the government issuing advisories against mass gatherings, even cancelling events on Holi, and the BCCI (Board of Cricket Control of India) calling off the India-South Africa ODI matches, which were to be held in Lucknow and Kolkata this month.

The mela (or carnival) assumes added significance as it will be the first after the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at Ayodhya. The top court, while putting an end to a decades-old title suit in November last year, had said that a separate land be given for the construction of a mosque.

The first day of the mela will see an idol of Lord Ram being shifted from its makeshift tent and being established inside a bullet-proof, waterproof fibre glass structure, which will be 21 feet in length and 15 feet in width. The ceremony will be overseen by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust as well as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) – both supervising the construction of the Ram Temple.

As the idol is placed there, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will perform the first aarti the same day.

Asserting that postponing the event was not an option, VHP President Alok Kumar told the publication, “The shifting of Bhagwan Ram from the makeshift tent to the chabutara (platform) is long due. It’s a shubh muhurat on 24-25 March and the event can’t be deferred.”

Despite Ayodhya CMO Ghyanshyam Singh saying that they didn’t have “the infrastructure to screen and hand out masks to 5 lakh people”, the district administration has decided to go ahead with the event.

The move also comes when temples across the country have issued advisories for the safety of devotees in view of the coronavirus outbreak. This includes Mumbai’s popular Siddhivinayak Temple, which has been shut as a precautionary measure.

COVID-19 has spread across at least 155 countries, including India, which has reported at least 126 active cases and three deaths. Globally, there have been over 1.82 lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19, and at least 7,100 people have succumbed to the infection.

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