Ayodhya: Police barricades, yellow banners, walls with a fresh coat of paint and the sounds of bhajan mark parts of Ayodhya as the city awaits its big day Wednesday, when the first brick will be laid for the Ram temple.

Ayodhya is decked up for the “bhumi pujan” that will be attended at the Ram Janmabhoomi by 175 people who figure in a select guest list of seers and politicians topped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Concerned over the spread of coronavirus, the authorities are encouraging others not to come to the temple town, asking them to mark the occasion by celebrating at their homes.

The ceremony shall start at around 8 am and end at about 2 pm. The main “bhumi pujan” is expected to take place at 12.30 pm and the foundation stone will be laid at 12.40 pm. The groundbreaking ceremony will be telecast live.

Roads leading to Ayodhya display hoardings with the picture of the proposed Ram temple and of Ram Lalla, the infant Ram, the deity now housed in a makeshift temple.

For the BJP, the beginning of construction of a grand temple in Ayodhya is an ideological victory over its rivals with even many Opposition leaders now welcoming the development.

Incidentally, the ground-breaking ceremony by Modi, in the presence of leading lights of Hindutva movement including RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, is being be conducted on August 5, which coincides with the first anniversary of the annulment of Article 370, another key ideological plank for the saffron party.