Relief in Ayodhya after judgment

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Relief appeared to be the overwhelming emotion in Ayodhya as the Supreme Court pronounced its judgment on the disputed site, allotting it for the construction of a Ram temple.

Many lanes and bylanes were barricaded by the police, but elsewhere it was business as usual.

In the run-up to the judgement delivered by a five-judge bench, many lanes in the town bore a deserted look. At homes, people sat glued to their television sets.

"Thank God," said Preeti Singh, a resident of Rikabganj, who was visiting a Durga temple with her children around the time the five-judge bench delivered the judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.

At some places, people chanted Jai Shri Ram and burst crackers.

Mohammed Sajid, who runs a tailoring shop, told PTI that he felt the verdict is incomplete. He did not wish to elaborate.

Devotees who visited the makeshift Ram Lalla temple at the disputed site appeared overwhelmed when told about the judgment.

Bharat Singh was among them. He had his darshan around 11 am, about 30 minutes after Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had begun reading the verdict.

I am overwhelmed and feel that my dream has come true. I feel blessed, he said later, holding back tears.

Mumbai resident Shreenarayan Shukla and Moradabad business Manish Gupta emerged smiling, their foreheads smeared with sandalwood paste.

In Hanumangari area, some youngsters chanted Jai Shri Ram, with their parents initially telling them not to do so.

Ramesh Das, 40, said, Five hundred years of slavery have finally ended. I never expected this. Soon, he was distributing sweets to passersby.

Calling himself a Ram bhakt, a man dressed a Lord Hanuman hugged him.

Mahant Sanjay Das of Hanumangarhi temple was seen exploding crackers.

Mahant Raju Das, a priest at the temple, said, "I welcome the SC judgement. This is a very good judgment, and I would l like to congratulate the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice."