With only three days to go for the historic Pran Pratishtha Utsav of Ram Lalla in the newly built Ayodhya Temple on January 22, multiple Indian states are announcing public holidays to mark the event. On January 22, PM Modi will perform the puja for the "Pran Pratistha'. A team of priests led by Lakshmikant Dixit will perform the main rituals of the Pran Prathistha. For the unversed, 'Pran Pratistha' means imbibing the idol with divine consciousness and is a must for every idol that is worshipped in a temple. The auspicious time for it is 12.30 pm on January 22. While the Central Government has already issued a notification directing a half-day closing till 2:30 pm on 22nd January 2024, at all Central Government offices, Central institutions & Central industrial establishments, multiple states have announced a public holiday on the auspicious day. Below is a list of states where Pran Pratistha Public holidays will be witnessed-
1) Haryana
The Haryana State Government on Friday announced that on January 22, 2024, all government schools and offices will be operating for half-day- till 2:30 pm. According to the order of Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, all government offices, boards, corporations, schools, colleges, and universities will open only for half the day. Not only this, the Haryana State Government has announced that the state will observe a dry day. Meaning there will be no sale of liquor on January 22 in the state.
2) Maharashtra
The Maharashtra government on Friday declared a public holiday on January 22, to observe the 'Pran Pratishtha' of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The decision follows a formal request made by state Cabinet minister and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Initially, the state general administration opposed the request, stating that a public holiday cannot be declared for such programmes as there is no precedence. But, On Friday, the Eknath Shinde Government gave a green signal to it.
3) Madhya Pradesh
The third statement on the list is Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh government has taken a proactive step by officially announcing a half-day holiday in all government offices until 2:30 pm on January 22. The move is in alignment with the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
4) Tripura
The state of Tripura will also follow the same regulations i.e. government offices and educational institutions will remain closed until 2:30 pm on January 22.
5) Uttar Pradesh
The city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh will host a plethora of VVIPs for the Pran Pratistha event. Therefore, the Yogi government has also announced that government schools and officers will be operational till 2:30 pm.
6) Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh where the BJP government came back to power has also declared a half-day public holiday on January 22, 2024. These decisions, driven by the significance of the Ram Temple event, aim to allow citizens to witness and actively participate in the grand ceremony.
7) Goa
Goa also is among the list of states which has given a half-day public holiday on January 22, 2024.
8) Odisha
Naveen Patnaik government has also notified a half-day public holiday on January 22, 2024 to celebrate Pran Pratistha Utsav in Ayodhya.
Apart from these 8 Indian States, the Union Territory Chandigarh Administration has also announced that all government offices, boards, corporations, educational institutions, and industrial establishments will remain closed. Orders have also been given to close all the institutions under administration.
Half-day holiday in Central Government offices
The Department of Personnel and Training has issued a memorandum, stating, "The Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya will be celebrated on January 22, 2024, across India. To enable employees to participate in the celebrations, it has been decided that all central government offices, central institutions, and central industrial establishments throughout India will be closed for half a day till 1430 hours on January 22."