A priest and 16 police officers on duty in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya city have tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the grand ceremony of Ram Temple on August 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the ¡°bhoomi poojan¡± or the foundation ceremony.
Pradeep Das, the priest who has tested positive is the disciple of Acharya Satendra Das. Das is also one of the four priests who give offerings to the deity everyday.?
Reports claimed that he was supposed to be part of the August 5 event.
Das has been placed in home quarantine and contact tracing is being conducted. The 16 police officers who have tested positive for the novel virus were on security duty on the temple¡¯s premises.
The ground-breaking ceremony is expected to start around noon. PM Narendra Modi is expected to visit the Hanuman Garhi and the makeshift temple of the idol of Ramlalla before that.
He will also lay a silver brick in the ground, as a symbolic gesture of ground-breaking.
A total of 200 people, including 150 invitees, would be allowed for the ceremony. The event will also be broadcast live. While the physical presence of people is curtailed due to the pandemic, numerous giant? LED screens will be installed in Ayodhya and Faizabad cities.