Patna gears up for grand Ram Navami celebration

Patna: The city gears up with great enthusiasm for the grand celebration of Ram Navami on March 27. The festival, marking the birth of Lord Ram, will see the city’s arterial roads come alive in the evening with vibrant Shobha Yatras or religious processions.As many as 52 puja committees are set to participate in the celebration, each contributing beautifully decorated tableaux and chariots that will enhance the festive atmosphere. The temple administration is making special arrangements for prayer, offerings, prasads and security to ensure peaceful celebration.At the Mahavir Temple near Patna Junction, the doors will open as early as 2am on the auspicious day. A special 15-minute ‘aarti’ will be performed immediately after opening, following which devotees will be able to offer ‘prasad’ and have ‘darshan’. The first ten devotees will be honoured. This year, priests specially invited from Ayodhya will lead the sacred rituals.Mahavir Sthan Trust Committee’s secretary Sayan Kunal said on Wednesday that to manage the large crowd, CCTV cameras and drones will be deployed for monitoring. “There will be no Naivedyam laddu counters inside the temple premises. Around 15 counters will be set up outside, extending from the temple area all the way to Veer Kunwar Singh Park,” he said.Organisers have set an ambitious target of preparing 24,000 kilograms of Naivedyam this year. Out of this, 18,000 kilograms have already been prepared and kept ready, while arrangements are in place to make an additional 6,000 kg if required.At the Panchroopi Hanuman Temple in Rajvanshi Nagar, preparations are equally impressive. Six quintals of fresh flowers are being specially brought from Kolkata to beautifully decorate the temple. The temple doors will open at 3am and remain accessible to devotees until 11pm. An order for 10 quintals of naivedyam has been placed, while local shopkeepers will also set up their own ‘prasad’ stalls. Ten priests will be present to conduct the rituals. For security, two dozen male and female police officers will be on duty at the temple.Over 2 lakh devotees will offer prayers at Jalla Hanuman Temple in Patna City’s Begumpur area on Ram Navami. The gates of the sanctorum will open at 3am following the prayer of Bajrangbali by the temple priests. The gates will remain open for devotees till 11pm.Prafull Kumar Pandey, member of the temple, said three separate entry points and an exit gate have been arranged to manage the crowd. “Pandals and counters for ‘naivedyam laddu’ have been put up. Around 12,000 kg of laddu have been ordered for the occasion. DSP II of Patna City, Gaurav Kumar, himself inspected all the preparations and he promised to provide 50-60 police personnel and an officer on the occasion to manage the crowd. We have our own private guards as well,” he said.He further said, “Two fire brigade vehicles, a medical team and ambulance will be deputed at the temple premises. The Patna Municipal Corporation will ensure fogging, drinking water and sanitation.”Meanwhile, the Hanuman Temple on Boring Road will open its doors to devotees from 4am onwards, with ‘prasad’ available from local vendors outside the premises.