Uttar Pradesh: Security beefed up in temple city Ayodhya ahead of New Year

Preempting a heavy footfall on the new year in the temple city, police here have beefed up security and marshalled other resources for better crowd control.

"On the basis of reports from different government departments, we are prepared to manage the crowd of 50 lakh devotees in Ayodhya on the first day of the new year," Senior Superintendent of Police Muniraj told PTI.

He said that about a dozen cranes have been kept on standby to clear roads of all obstructions.

"Required route diversions have also been put in place and we have deployed additional force to professionally manage the movement of pilgrims round-the-clock," the officer added.

According to a report from the state tourism department, in 2022, around 2.5 crore tourists visited Ayodhya, of which about 25,000 were foreigners.

The number of tourists in 2022 was 70 lakh more than what it was in 2021.

More than 30 lakh devotees visited Ayodhya on January 1, 2022, as per the report.