Amid Mahakumbh festivities, devotees gather at temples in Ayodhya

Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 21 (ANI): Amid the ongoing Mahakumbh festivities, a huge number of devotees are gathering at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
The devotees are also visiting the Ram temple complex to offer prayers even though it remains blanketed with a dense layer of fog due to the cold weather.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature forecasted in Ayodhya is 10 degrees Celsius.
The Mahakumbh selfie point set up next to Ayodhya Ram temple has become the centre of attraction to devotees. A devotee says, " We are going to the Maha Kumbh Mela, before that we visited Ayodhya and we are feeling amazing. This selfie point is of Maha Kumbh..."
Earlier in December, the Ayodhya Municipal Corporation already made arrangements for the devotees, setting up shelter places and ensuring the availability of drinking water. The shelter places set up by the Ayodhya Nagar Nigam will provide devotees relief from the cold weather.
Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi had said that the devotees were expected to visit Ayodhya to get a glimpse of the Saryu River and Ram Lala after enjoying the Kumbh. "According to mythological belief with regards to Maha Kumbh, people who take a bath in Prayag usually try to visit Saryu to bathe in it and to get a glimpse of Ram Lala," he said.
Despite the chilly weather and fog conditions, a large congregation of devotees gathered at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on Tuesday to take a dip in the ongoing Mahakumbh.
As per the data of the Uttar Pradesh government, more than 1.597 million devotees took a dip at Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj on the ninth day of the Mahakumbh.
As of January 20, over 88.1 million have already taken a dip in the sacred confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mystical Saraswati.
On Tuesday morning, a dense layer of fog engulfed the Prayagraj city with inclement weather conditions in the city.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the minimum temperature in Prayagraj for today is 11 degrees Celsius with a forecast of fog in the morning and mainly clear sky later in the day.
Amidst the dense fog in the morning, flight operations were normal at the Prayagraj airport.
Thousands of people gathered on the ghats of Sangam to take a holy dip in the Triveni Sangam, a sacred confluence of three rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati.
Maha Kumbh is one of the largest and most significant religious congregations in the world, held every 12 years at one of four locations in India. The next key 'snan' dates are: January 29 (Mauni Amavasya - Second Shahi Snan), February 3 (Basant Panchami - Third Shahi Snan), February 12 (Maghi Purnima), and February 26 (Maha Shivaratri).
Uttar Pradesh police deployed over 10,000 personnel, including local police and paramilitary forces for the event's security. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed a "water ambulance" stationed at Sangam to ensure the safety of devotees.
The Maha Kumbh began on January 13 and will continue until February 26. (ANI)