Hotels to markets: NDMC area in Delhi gears up with pujas, bhandaras for Ram Mandir ceremony

Meanwhile, the NDMC’s Horticulture Department will display floral boards at prominent locations, facades will be illuminated with LED lights, and live telecasts will be broadcasted on LED screens across the NDMC area.

“Ram Mandir statues, flags, and stickers have also been distributed to employees and heads of departments,” Upadhyay said.

Markets in the NDMC area, including Khan Market, Khanna Market, Connaught Place, Kidwai Nagar, Shankar Market, Palika Bazar, Pandara Road and Lodhi Road, have made their own arrangements to mark the event.

Traders at Palika Bazar have illuminated the market with lights and will hold a bhandara serving over 1,500 people. “We have decorated the whole market with flags, banners and balloons… a bhandara will take place on 22nd evening, and a 20% discount will be offered to customers who enter hops after saying ‘Jai Shri Ram’ between January 20 and 23,” Darshan Lal Kakkar, president of the Pallika Bazar Traders Association, said.

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Traders in Connaught Place plan to light 1.25 lakh diyas, conduct a special puja in C Block, and display flags and banners throughout the market.

The New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) said, “For our morning event, we will install a large LED screen at the inner circle for a live telecast. We plan to celebrate with the blowing of shankhs and ringing of bells.”

To mark the occasion, the NDTA said many restaurants in CP have decided to serve only vegetarian food.

The NDTA also plans to perform a grand puja with an 11 kg laddoo as an offering. “This will be followed by a musical Sundurkand paath,” said NDTA joint-secretary Amit Gupta said.

Ashok Randhawa, President of the Sarojini Nagar mini market traders association, said: “We have placed 65 huge Ram Banners in the market so far, more banners will be placed tomorrow; danglers and lighting have been placed in all shops, 11,000 diyas will be lit up on the day of the ceremony.. 4-5 bhandaras are being planned by the traders association,”

Ravinder Arora from the Janpath Traders Association said: “Bhandaras will start from tomorrow and a kirtan will be held on Monday.”
At Khan Market, saffron flags were hung up across shops as early as January 10. The traders association has also planned a range of events for the consecration.