Ram temple in Ayodhya extends darshan hours amid rising footfall

Ayodhya: The Ram temple in Ayodhya has extended its darshan and ritual timings by an hour to accommodate the growing number of devotees, officials said on Friday. Under the new schedule, the temple will now open at 6 am instead of 7 am and remain accessible until 10 pm.

According to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the daily schedule will begin with the Mangala Aarti at 4 am, after which the doors will briefly close.

The Shringar Aarti at 6 am will mark the opening for devotees. The Rajbhog offering at 12 noon will allow visitors to have darshan, while the Sandhya Aarti at 7 pm will involve a brief 15-minute closure before reopening.

The Shayan Aarti will now take place at 10 pm instead of 9:30 pm, after which the temple will close for the night.

The trust stated that the changes will extend darshan by 90 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening. Devotees will also be allowed to have darshan during prasad offerings.

On February 3, the Uttar Pradesh government reported that over one crore devotees had visited Ayodhya between January 26 and Basant Panchami (February 3), setting a new record. The Ram temple, a major spiritual center, currently sees around three lakh visitors daily.