First 'aastha' train with pilgrims leaves for Ayodhya from Raipur

A special train with pilgrims left for Ayodhya from Raipur on Wednesday, days after Lord Ram Lallas idol was consecrated in the temple in the Uttar Pradesh town.

A special train with pilgrims left for Ayodhya from Raipur on Wednesday, days after Lord Ram Lalla's idol was consecrated in the temple in the Uttar Pradesh town. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off the ''aastha'' train with 1,344 pilgrims on board.

Sai said he and Cabinet ministers will visit Ayodhya in March for the darshan of Lord Ram Lalla after the ongoing legislative Assembly session concludes.

Raipur MP Sunil Soni, MLA Dharamlal Kaushik, and others were present at the railway station when the train was flagged off. ''On February 14, 1889, the first passenger train from Raipur to Bilaspur departed on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchmi. In an auspicious coincidence, 1,344 devotees departed to Ayodhya for the darshan of Lord Ram Lalla on the same occasion on Wednesday,'' the chief minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)