The temple town of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh is adorned with flowers, saffron flags, and large cutouts of Lord Ram in preparation for the upcoming mega event at the Ram Mandir. The 'pran-pratishtha' or consecration ceremony is scheduled for Monday.

Champat Rai, General Secretary of the trust overseeing the temple, shared details about the grand event, mentioning that the 'pran-pratishtha' of the Ram Lalla idol will commence at 12:20 pm on January 22 and is expected to conclude by 1 pm.

Ayodhya has implemented elaborate security arrangements for the event, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Ram temple trust has extended invitations to eminent personalities from various domains.

Notable sportspersons reportedly invited to the consecration ceremony include legendary cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mithali Raj, Rahul Dravid, and Ravindra Jadeja. Other sports figures on the reported guest list include Neeraj Chopra, PT Usha, Leander Paes, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, and Viswanathan Anand.

The list of over 500 state guests, as reported by PTI, includes top actors, directors, and singers from the entertainment industry. Among the esteemed invitees is Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who is expected to arrive in Ayodhya on Monday in a private chartered plane to witness the unveiling of the magnificent 161-feet-tall pink sandstone shrine.

The actual attendance of the invitees is yet uncertain, with some opting for private jets on January 22, while others may arrive a day earlier via regular flights, staying overnight in Ayodhya or nearby cities like Lucknow.