Priest, 16 cops involved in Ayodhya Ram temple event test COVID +ve

In an unsavoury turn of events, a priest and 16 policemen at Ayodhya, where the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram temple is expected to be held on August 5, have tested positive for the highly contagious coronavirus.

Pradeep Das, the assistant to the chief priest said he had tested positive for COVID-19.

The 16 policemen who tested positive were engaged in security duties at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
Last week, Yogi Adiyanath had visited the place to see the preparations and the priest infected with coronavirus were present with him.

Following the event, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has decided to get the entire Ram Janmabhoomi campus sanitised on a daily basis. The trust said that the programme will be however held as planned, maintaining all the covid safety protocols.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony along with 50VIPs. Diwali-like preparations were in full swing for the ceremony, including a helipad for the PM, three kilometers from the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

Around 200 people will be present for the ceremony at the complex which interestingly is a stark contrast to the covid safety protocols which strictly allow only 50 people in a public ceremony.

Giant CCTV screens have been erected across Ayodhya so the devotees can watch the programme.

The Trust- set up on the directions of the Supreme Court to facilitate the construction of the temple- finalised a date of opening earlier this month. Due to the pandemic lockdown, the opening was delayed.

Currently Ayodhya has 375 active cases of coronavirus, Uttar Pradesh has 29,997 cases.

Meanwhile images of Lord Ram and 3D portraits of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be beamed across the giant billboards in the iconic Times Square in New York on August 5, to celebrate the ground breaking ceremony.