Modi was on his first visit to Ayodhya after he laid the foundation stone of a Ram temple at the once disputed Ram Janmabhoomi site on August 5, 2020.
The death toll could go up further as several Kanwariyas jumped into the river to avoid the train, superintendent of police NK Srivastva said, adding police and armed constabulary divers and boat had been pressed into service to trace them.
The pilgrimage, which started at around 8 pm on Sunday will conclude on Tuesday.
Those in love with kabristan used to spend public money there, those who love religion and culture are spending the money on their uplift and upgrade, he said
He will travel the 8km stretch from Katra to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on February 7 to dedicate to the nation a bridge on Saryu River.
With a favourable report, the ASI has vindicated our stand and now there is no looking back," Mahant Nritya Gopal Das said.
Thackeray recalled former prime minister Vajpayee as saying, Ab Hindu maat nahi khayega (Hindus will not be defeated now), and added, "Hindus will not sit silent."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
He further said that time has come to discuss the issue of Ram Temple and should try to find a permanent solution.
The ultimate consequences of Rahul Gandhi's yatra may be known only in 2024, points out Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Several states of the country are battling grim flood situations that have affected lakhs of people and have also resulted in loss of life and property.
The UP CM's visit comes a day after senior BJP leaders were charged with conspiracy in the Babri Masjid case.
As dusk fell, volunteers lit up nearly six lakh diyas lined up on the Saryu riverbank. 'Representatives of the Guinness Book of World Records witnessed this grand festival. With 5,84,372 earthen lamps, the event made the world record,' a state government statement said.
A day after the Uttar Pradesh government banned its proposed 'Sankalp Diwas' rally, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Tuesday vowed to go ahead with its programme even as the district administration said it was determined to thwart any such plan.
BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday claimed that work on the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya would start before this year-end.
Though Sena is part of the ruling BJP-led coalition in Maharashtra and at th centre, it has been critical of its ally on a number of issues.
Barring his own testimony, no one has seen Narendra Modi selling tea on streets, Union Minister R P N Singh on Thursday said, and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was a party of "dream sellers".
On the eve of 22nd anniversary of Babri mosque demolition, the temple town has turned into a fortress with nearly 10,000 security personnel deployed amid calls by Muslim outfits to mark the day by hoisting black flags even as Hindu bodies seek to commemorate it.
"Nobody can do injustice to Ayodhya," he said, adding that the holy city is identified by Lord Ram.
Interestingly, the choice of August 5 as the day of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the abolition of Kashmir's special status on the same day a year ago. Perhaps the RSS-BJP wants August 5 to be remembered as the date on which the foundation stone of their cherished Hindu rashtra was laid, notes Amulya Ganguli.
Undeterred by the ban imposed by the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Friday said that it will go ahead with its proposed 'Sankalp Diwas' to take a resolve to launch an agitation for rebuilding the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The main streets of Ayodhya wear a scintillating look with illuminated lamps and special decorations.
The toll in Uttar Pradesh floods on Monday increased to 48, with reports of 20 more deaths in the state where several rivers were flowing above danger mark posing threat to more than 1,000 villages.
The Samajwadi Party government went overboard in deploying nearly 10,000 policemen to patrol the streets of Ayodhya to prevent the VHP from carrying out its 84-kosi parikrama, reports Sharat Pradhan
Elect the eunuchs and they will prove their honesty in contrast to a practicing politician. Without any kith and kin, they can at least be a catalyst sorely needed for minimising, if not uprooting nepotism and favouritism that breeds corruption, says Ram Ugrah.
'It is best that an amicable solution to the dispute is found outside the precincts of the courts of law,' says former Union home secretary Dr Madhav Godbole.
The twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad were on the edge on Saturday as tension mounted on the eve of VHP's yatra with the UP government cracking down on the saffron outfit arresting some of its leaders and over 350 activists.
'The Ganga must be kept above all divisive politics,' says Uma Bharti.
'A drought is like a fire. It licks everything in its wake - crop, trees, animals, humans...' The plains of the Ganga in Bihar have a raw, unmatched, beauty, but also bear the anguish of its farmers.
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