Bhubaneswar: Hundreds of devotees gathered at Ram Temple in Odisha capital to offer prayers on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami on Sunday.
The temple gates opened at 4.30 am and Mangal Arati was held at 5 am as a part of the special rituals. It was followed by a yajna till noon, following which birth rituals of Lord Ram were observed. The temple will remain open till 10 pm to allow devotees to have darshan of the deity.
Police forces have been deployed to control the devotees’ rush.
Ram Navami processions are carried out throughout the state and the festival is celebrated on a larger scale in Balasore, Bhadrak, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Kendrapada, Khurda, Cuttack and Nayagarh districts as well as places under Bhubaneswar and Cuttack urban police districts.
Security arrangements
Around 100 platoons of force have been deployed across the state to ensure peaceful celebration of Ram Navami. Three companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) each are also stationed at Sambalpur, Balasore and Bhadrak districts and one at Rajgangpur in Sundargarh, where extensive security arrangements have been made keeping in view the sensitivity of the places and past history of communal tensions.
Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra, who is camping in Balasore district, is also in charge of maintaining law and order in neighbouring Bhadrak district. Eastern Range DIG Satyajit Naik and DIG Crime Branch Battula Gangadhar have also been stationed at Bhadrak and Balasore, respectively.
On the eve of the festival, personnel of CAPF and Odisha Police also held flag marches at various places across the state.
Sambalpur has been turned into a fortress with deployment of 24 platoons of police, BSF and CRPF personnel. Checkposts equipped with CCTV cameras and LED screens, showing live footage of the crowd in surrounding areas, have been set up at sensitive places in city, which witnessed communal clashes in 2023. Dog squads and bomb squads are conducting thorough checks, while homes, rooftops, and shops in communally-volatile zones are being closely monitored with 20 drones flying across the city.
The main Ram Navami procession will begin at Khetrajpur railway station.
The Sundargarh administration has installed over 100 CCTV cameras along the 1-km-long Ram Navami procession route in Rajgangpur. A surveillance drone equipped with a speaker system has been deployed to monitor Ram Navami celebrations and it was utilized during a flag march led by Rourkela SP. Police personnel are also stationed on building rooftops along the route of the procession, which will commence from Babatalab at 2 pm and conclude at Liploi Hanuman temple by 10 pm. This apart, sensitive areas will be cordoned off during the celebration.
A total of 26 platoons of police force have been deployed to maintain law and order.
Police have warned of stringent action against anyone found violating the procession licence rules, which includes brandishing swords or other weapons.
DIG Eastern Range Satyajit Naik, DM Bhadrak, and SP Bhadrak, led the flag march by a team of Odisha Police, BSF, and CRPF personnel in Bhadrak town. A total of 37 platoons of police force have been deployed in the town to ensure a harmonious environment.
In Cuttack city, 25 platoons of police force have been deployed to maintain peace.
In Jeypore, around 10 platoons of police force have been deployed on the 4-km Ram Navami procession route as well as vulnerable areas.