Ayodhya:
A security blanket has been thrown around the twin towns of Ayodhya and Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh as a defiant VHP is threatening to go ahead with their 300 km yatra around Ayodhya on Sunday.
The Akhilesh Yadav government has banned the yatra but the young chief minister is not taking any chances. His government is preparing to tackle any element of surprise that the VHP and other Hindutva forces may try to spring on them.
A flag march by security forces was held to deter any move by the VHP to defy the ban on their parikrama. As the anti-riot forces drove through Ayodhya, the message was driven home - any attempt to violate the ban will be met with brute force.
Section 144, which prohibits public gatherings, is already in place in the six districts that fall on the yatra route.
"We have got the force we had asked for. We have made the deployment. 42 entry points are there and checks have been put in place. The parikrama will not happen," said Vipin Kumar Dwivedi, the District Magistrate of Faizabad, who lead the flag march.
Sirens kept blaring through the streets as the march touched flashpoints across the temple town.
6,000 police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in addition to the existing 1,600 paramilitary forces that camp round the year. Barricades have mushroomed across the districts to seal the 42 entry points on the borders of Faizabad.
And the government is keeping a watchful eye on the movements of saffron leaders.
In Allahabad, VHP chief Ashok Singhal was put under house arrest today. Two hours later, he was allowed to leave for Delhi.
Makhoda, the first pit stop of the yatra, is 15 kilometres away from Ayodhya. CCTV cameras are being installed by the police here.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today cancelled all his public engagements and was huddled in administrative and political meetings. He held talks with MLAs of all the six districts and said the message for the VHP is loud and clear - that the lines of communication with them have been put on hold. Now there is no room for any negotiations on the yatra.
The Akhilesh Yadav government has banned the yatra but the young chief minister is not taking any chances. His government is preparing to tackle any element of surprise that the VHP and other Hindutva forces may try to spring on them.
A flag march by security forces was held to deter any move by the VHP to defy the ban on their parikrama. As the anti-riot forces drove through Ayodhya, the message was driven home - any attempt to violate the ban will be met with brute force.
Section 144, which prohibits public gatherings, is already in place in the six districts that fall on the yatra route.
"We have got the force we had asked for. We have made the deployment. 42 entry points are there and checks have been put in place. The parikrama will not happen," said Vipin Kumar Dwivedi, the District Magistrate of Faizabad, who lead the flag march.
Sirens kept blaring through the streets as the march touched flashpoints across the temple town.
6,000 police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in addition to the existing 1,600 paramilitary forces that camp round the year. Barricades have mushroomed across the districts to seal the 42 entry points on the borders of Faizabad.
And the government is keeping a watchful eye on the movements of saffron leaders.
In Allahabad, VHP chief Ashok Singhal was put under house arrest today. Two hours later, he was allowed to leave for Delhi.
Makhoda, the first pit stop of the yatra, is 15 kilometres away from Ayodhya. CCTV cameras are being installed by the police here.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today cancelled all his public engagements and was huddled in administrative and political meetings. He held talks with MLAs of all the six districts and said the message for the VHP is loud and clear - that the lines of communication with them have been put on hold. Now there is no room for any negotiations on the yatra.
