Odisha govt directs DCs & SPs to remain on high alert

Odisha Chief Secretary A K Tripathy on Saturday instructed the District Collectors and Superintendents of Police to ensure maintenance of peace and harmony across the state in view of the Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case.

Tripathy also told the authorities dealing with law and order situation to be on alert and watch the situation.

Odisha DGP B K Sharma said elaborate security arrangements have been put in place in all sensitive places in the state.

However, the DGP refused to divulge the details of deployment made in view of the security.

Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in an appeal to the people of the state urged them to maintain peace and accept the Supreme Court verdict.

"Ahead of #Ayodhya Verdict, appeal to everyone to accept the judgment of Honourable #Supreme Court. Let us continue to live in peace and harmony. The sprit of brotherhood is the hallmark of our secular fabric," Patnaik said in his twitter post.

The Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict on Saturday cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.

In one of the most important and most anticipated judgements in India's history, a 5-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi put an end to the more than a century old dispute that has torn the social fabric of the nation.