 "Pran pratishtha at Ram mandir: When and where to watch live telecast")
Ayodhya Ram temple consecration: The much-anticipated "pran pratishtha" ceremony of Lord Ram's idol at the newly-built Ram mandir in Ayodhya will be conducted today. While the ceremony itself will be held between 12:20 pm and 1 pm, the event's coverage began much earlier on national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD) and private news channels.
As the chief guest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will perform the rituals inside the temple's sanctum sanctorum at around 12:30 pm. The temple trust has invited around 7,000 guests for the grand event. The guest list includes prominent politicians, industrialists, athletes, and stars, among others.
Where to watch "pran pratishtha" live?
Live coverage on Doordarshan will begin at 7 am and will be aired on the broadcaster's official YouTube account. Viewers can also tune into DD National.
"Be part of history in the making on #Doordarshan. Join us for the grand and exclusive live coverage of the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, on DD National and its YouTube channel," the broadcaster said in a post on X.
For its coverage, which will be in different languages, DD has installed nearly 40 cameras at various locations in this Uttar Pradesh town. It will air footage from locations such as Ram ki Paidi near Saryu Ghat and the Jatayu statue at Kuber Tila. The visuals will be in a 4K display.
You can also click here to get Business Standard's live updates from Ayodhya.
Several movie theatres, including multiplex operator PVR-INOX, will also screen the event live, reported The Mint.
Ayodhya set to welcome Lord Ram
Ayodhya has been decked up with posters and flags of Lord Ram, while cities across the country have been decorated with lights, huge cutouts of Lord Ram and posters bearing religious slogans related to Lord Ram.
The central government announced on Thursday that all its offices will be closed for half a day on January 22.
Many states have also announced a holiday for the "pran pratishtha" ceremony. Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are among them.
In Delhi, LG VK Saxena on Saturday approved the closure of government offices and educational institutions for half a day till 2:30 pm on January 22.
The Uttar Pradesh government has tightened security in the city by setting up a dial 112 monitoring centres at Lata Mangeshkar Chowk.
Uttar Pradesh Police Department authorities said on Sunday that over 13,000 security personnel have been deployed in and around Ayodhya to ensure the safe and smooth conduct of the mega event.