Hyderabad: The annual Sri Ram Navami Shobha Yatra will be next month in the city. It is expected to be a grand affair with the organizers planning to mobilize around one lakh people for the procession that will be taken out in the city on the occasion.
The Ram Navami Shobha Yatra, is organized by the Sri Ram Navami Shobha Yatra Samithi, from Seetharambagh, Asifnagar and it culminates at Hanuman Vyamshala after traversing a seven kilometre routes covering the communally sensitive localities of Asifnagar, Mangalhat, Dhoolpet, Jummerat Bazaar, Begum Bazaar and Gowliguda before winding up at Hanuman Vyamshala where a public meeting is organized.
The highlight of the Shobha Yatra in Hyderabad will be the procession of Hindutva fire brand leader and Goshamahal MLA T Raja Singh, who is known for playing a vital role in organizing and making it a successful event since it was started in 2012. The first procession had approximately 10,000 participants, has since grown to over a lakh.
This festival celebrates the birth of Lord Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It falls on the 9th day of the Chaitra month, which is the first month of the Hindu calendar.
Ahead of Ram Navami procession in Hyderabad, mosque covered with cloth
Over the last few years, the Sree Ram Navami Shobha Yatra has become a tense occasion nationally, due to inflammatory and anti-minority speeches often leading to violence. In Hyderabad, also anti-Muslim speeches by Raja Singh himself were made as well in the past.
Sri Ram Yuva Sena, an organisation formed by Raja Singh and other Hindu groups, is reportedly putting in their best efforts to make the Ram Navami rally in Hyderabad a grand success. The organizers claim one lakh people will participate in the Shobha Yatra.
Raja Singh held two meetings with the local GHMC and HMWS&SB officials and asked them to take up all road repair works. He asked the officials to take up road repairs on a war footing, repair damaged water and sewerage pipelines on the procession route.
The organizers will invite martial arts artists from different cities to entertain the public with sword fighting and lathi drill skills. Participants from Ram Bhakts from neighbouring Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh will come to participate in the Shobha Yatra.
The organizers will leave no stone unturned because of the popularity the Shobha Yatra gained in the country in recent years. New audio songs are released every year, coinciding with the Sree Ram Navami Shobha Yatra and BJP leader Raja Singh himself sings songs. The Hyderabad police is also doing its best to ensure that law and order is maintained during the rally.
