Ayodhya, Aug 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ayodhya on Wednesday for the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony of the grand Ram temple. On his arrival, the Prime Minister first offered his prayers at the 10th century Hanuman Garhi temple, where he offered 'aarti' and made a 'parikrama' of the holy shrine.
On the occasion, Gaddinsheen Premdas Maharaj, the head priest of temple, presented a silver 'mukut' and a stole to the Prime Minister.
Dressed in traditional attire (dhoti and kurta), Modi arrived in Ayodhya on a helicopter from Lucknow and directly went to the Hanuman Garhi temple to offer his prayers as per the tradition. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
He spent around 10 minutes at the Hanuman Garhi temple. The entire temple premises was sanitised before the Prime Minister's arrival.
After offering his prayers at the 10th century temple, the Prime Minister proceeded to the Ram Janmabhoomi site to lay the foundation stone for the Ram temple.
The 'bhumi pujan' for the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya is cheduled to begin at 12.30 p.m. with Modi performing the 'shila pujan' and 'karma shila pujan'.
The Prime Minister will lay a 40 kg silver brick to symbolise the beginning of the construction of the grand Ram temple.
( With inputs from IANS )