Maharashtra declares public holiday on January 22

The state government on Friday declared a public holiday on January 22 to mark the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

The announcement comes a day after the Central government declared a half-day holiday for its employees.

The decision was taken after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde returned from World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in Switzerland. A number of legislators from BJP had raised the demand to declare a public holiday on Monday.