A monkey sits on a wall as police officers stand on top of the decorated Ram temple on the eve of its opening in Ayodhya on January 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Jammu and Kashmir government has announced half-day public holiday on January 22 in view of the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.
This decision comes among several other States also declaring a public holiday, or a half-day holiday to commemorate the consecration ceremony.
The Union government has also announced a half day closure of all its offices on January 22 to “enable” Central government employees participate in the ‘Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha’ celebrations.
All public sector banks, financial institutions, regional rural banks, and public insurers will be covered by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) order on half-day closure (till 2.30 p.m.) on January 22. The Finance Ministry has issued a communique to all public sector banks and heads of financial institutions.
The consecration ceremony is being held after the first phase of the temple’s construction, made possible by a Supreme Court judgment in 2019 on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit. The Hindu litigants argued that the Babri Mosque was constructed at the site of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. In 1992, the 16th century mosque was demolished by “kar sevaks”.
