To prevent the incidents of suicide and accidental deaths, the Irrigation Department has has barricaded the ghats of river Saryu in Ayodhya with chain and iron pole. This came after the district administration issued orders to the effect.

Similarly, the bank at Guptaar Ghat, another religious place along Saryu in Faizabad, has also been barricaded.

Additional District Magistrate DP Giri said the barricades were for the safety of the people. But nobody was being stopped from taking a holy dip in the river.

According to an Irrigation Department official, in the last two months, several incidents of drowning have been reported.

“It is our duty to make the necessary arrangements in order to prevent such incidents. Last Tuesday, one Vaibhav alias Chotu Singh drowned in the river,” added the official.

“The administration wants to keep a check on incidents of suicide or accidental deaths. But this is not the way it should be tackled as taking a holy dip is a routine religious practice,” said Raj Kumar Pandey, a local priest.

According to Ram Teerath, another local priest, even though the river water is about 500 meters away from the bank, the authorities have cordoned the bank with three layers of barricading.

The biggest religious gathering in the temple town Sawan Jhula Mela is approaching and the barricades will cause a lot of problem for the pilgrims, he said.