Ahead of August 5 groundbreaking ceremony for Ram temple, a priest and about a dozen policemen on duty at Ayodhya have tested positive for coronavirus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony along with 50 VIPs.
Pradeep Das, the assistant to the chief priest confirmed to the media that he had tested positive for coronavirus. Also, the temple trust has confirmed that 16 policemen who tested positive were engaged in security duties at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex.
The ceremony will be held amid tight security and stringent safety rules for coronavirus. Around 200 people will be present for the ceremony at the complex. The number will include priests, securitymen, guests and some locals, the Trust said.
According to the temple trust report, the policemen who tested positive were engaged in security duties. While four of them was on permanent duty inside the complex.
Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited the Ram Janmabhoomi complex to see the preparations for the event which is to be attended by the Prime Minister.
PM Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the temple and would likely spend some time with high priests of the temple.
Around 200 people will attend the scheduled event which got postponed due to the pandemic.
Currently, Ayodhya has 375 active cases of coronavirus, while Uttar Pradesh has 29,997 cases.