Ayodhya district administration has imposed a complete ban on unauthorised drone operations across the district following an order by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath due to potential drone-related threats.
Officials have appealed to residents to stay away from the accident site to facilitate rescue efforts. Senior police and administrative officers are supervising the operation and have begun an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.
A video clip of the purported remark quickly went viral on social media, prompting local BJP MLA Raj Prasad Upadhyay to seek action against the doctor.
The Chopan Express had halted at platform four of the station, and the passengers chose to get down on the track, though there is a footover bridge, the railways said.
A minaret of Khajoor ki Masjid in Gudri Bazaar in the heart of Faizabad city is said to be encroaching on the proposed Ram Path by three metres.
The Uttar Pradesh cabinet will hold its meeting on Thursday in Ayodhya as the city gears up for the opening of the Ram temple in January.
"This entire period is highly sensitive in terms of law and order, healthcare, sanitation, education, and disaster management. Hence, all related departments and district administrations must work with coordination and accountability," Adityanath said, according to an official statement.
Adityanath asked the chief secretary and the director general of police to conduct a thorough review of the Maha Kumbh Mela arrangements on Thursday. "Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami," he said.
A Shiv temple in Ludhawala, a predominantly Muslim locality in Muzaffarnagar, was reopened on Monday after being closed for over 30 years. The temple, built in 1971, was shut down during the communal tensions triggered by the Ayodhya incident in 1992. The reopening ceremony was conducted peacefully with a 'havan' and local Muslims showering flowers on a procession of Hindu activists. The event was marked by a display of harmony, highlighting the importance of religious tolerance and understanding.
Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
A four-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the recently-discovered Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, five pilgrimage sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. The survey followed the discovery of three damaged idols inside a well of the Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened after being shut for 46 years. The Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, also known as the Bhasma Shankar temple, was reopened on December 13 after authorities found the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The temple houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had remained locked since 1978. The district administration has requested carbon dating of the temple, including the well, from the ASI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has restrained courts across India from entertaining new lawsuits or passing any orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs, until further notice. This action halts proceedings in approximately 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu parties seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi at Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal, where four individuals died in clashes. The Supreme Court will examine the legality, scope, and boundaries of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of places of worship and ensures the preservation of their religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
BJP and RSS leaders are once again pushing to remove the words 'secular' and 'socialist' from the Constitution's Preamble, showing a deeper effort to change India's identity from a diverse, multi-religious republic to a Hindu-first nation, even though they don't have the numbers in Parliament to officially change the Constitution, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Following a stampede at New Delhi railway station and large crowds arriving for the Maha Kumbh, authorities in Uttar Pradesh have implemented stringent security protocols at key railway stations including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Kanpur, Lucknow and Mirzapur. Measures include restricted entry, holding areas for passengers, increased security personnel, and improved facilities to prevent overcrowding.
The construction of the temple is expected to be completed by December 2023 and Lord Ram is expected to be seated in the sanctum sanctorum by the Makar Sankranti festival in January 2024.
Devotees attending the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj are facing transportation challenges, with many forced to walk long distances in search of transport. Thousands of pilgrims returning from the event are stranded at Varanasi Cantt and Banaras railway stations, with some missing their trains due to the rush and others stuck because of cancellations. Officials say the traffic situation in the district has returned to normal, but some pilgrims report difficulties in finding transport and reaching their destinations.
In an unusual coincidence, the two judges of a Supreme Court bench hearing a plea against the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi have had an association with a similar kind of dispute relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid issue as well.
The Congress' attack came after the Ayodhya Development Authority accused 40 people, including the City mayor, a local BJP MLA and a former party legislator, of illegally trading plots and building infrastructure there.
According to the order, there will be a ban on the use of drone and no shop will sell them without prior information.
Temples across Uttar Pradesh were packed with devotees on Sunday for Ram Navami, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leading prayers at the Gorakhnath Temple. Heavy crowds were witnessed at temples in Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Varanasi, where security was heightened. In Gorakhpur, Adityanath performed the traditional kanya pujan ritual, while in Varanasi, a 51-foot statue of Lord Ram has become a major attraction. The festival was celebrated with enthusiastic fervor across the state.
In a series of restrictions, district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha on Saturday ordered against the use of social media to "insult" deities or to install idols and hold processions related to Ram Janmabhoomi.
The funeral procession of the Mahant will start from Digambar Akhara and after taking a round of the town, the body\nwill be taken to Saryu river's banks, where it would be consigned to flames at the Tulsi Ghat around 1400 IST.
The high court has dismissed the Gyanvapi mosque management committee's appeal.
Earlier on Wednesday, the district court ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in a cellar of the Gyanvapi Masjid, a significant development in the legal battle over the mosque adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
No prominent leader -- either from the vociferous Hindu hardliner groups or from any Islamic fundamentalist body -- proposes to be in or around Ayodhya on Wednesday.
The outfit proposes to hold a meeting at the town to decide on the construction of the Ram Temple.
Bhatt was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and 20 years in jail in a 1996 case relating to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer in Palanpur. He is currently lodged in the Rajkot Central Jail.
Prayers were performed in a cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi on Wednesday night following court orders allowing the resumption of a practice said to have been discontinued three decades back, Kashi Vishwanath temple trust president said.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear the plea of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee.
Amid the huge rush of devotees in Ayodhya, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with officials in Lucknow to review the steps taken for crowd management and advised VIPs planning to visit the temple to inform the authorities in advance.
The Ayodhya district administration has told news channels that litigants in the Ayodhya land dispute case should not be part of any discussions that they broadcast from the temple town during the 'Bhumi Pujan' for the Ram temple on August 5. In an advisory, it also said that if channels are broadcasting a debate or programme from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh during the ground-breaking ceremony, there should be no comments against any person or religion.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Yogi Adityanath and 24 others accompanying him to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's 'Sankalap Diwas' rally in Ayodhya were on Friday arrested at the railway station in Gonda, Uttar Pradesh, as a preventive measure, police said.
In a major victory for the Hindu side, a Varanasi court on Wednesday allowed Hindu devotees to offer prayers inside the 'Vyas ka Tekhana' area inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex.
Was Ram Rahim's release on parole for the 10th time since his conviction in 2017 timed to coincide with the Haryana assembly elections? It does seem so when one considers he has been released mostly when there was an election in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Listing the times that Ram Rahim has been out on parole.
The government on Wednesday named nine out of 15 members of the 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust constituted for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as mandated by the Supreme Court. Here's all you need to know about the members of the trust who have been named so far.
Some jewellery shops in the famous Shringaar Haat area turned into places for community television spots as passers-by and even some security personnel and mediapersons joined shopkeepers to watch the live telecast of 'bhoomi poojan' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the temple and his speech. Many recalled that these scenes were similar to ones quite common in late 1980s when 'Ramayana' serial was telecast on Doordarshan and people used to gather at few houses and shops having TV sets.
The Centre has rushed additional security forces to Ayodhya to prevent the much hyped yatra that is being planned by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in spite of a ban on it by the Uttar Pradesh government.
The petitioner alleged this hurt his religious sentiments as the BSP supremo compared herself to Lord Rama.
Authorities said social media posts will be monitored to ensure that no attempt is made to vitiate the atmosphere.
Mani Shankar Aiyar says the Congress party and not then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was responsible for unlocking the Babri Masjid gates and claimed that the "Bharatiya Janata Party-planted" Arun Nehru was behind it.
The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha's had given a call for reciting Hanuman Chalisa inside the Shahi Masjid Idgah to mark the anniversary of the Babri Mosque demolition.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances