Religious fervour marks Ram Navmi

NEW DELHI, MARCH 24
Devotees thronged temples since daybreak as fasting, special prayers and dips in sacred rivers marked Ram Navmi, the birthday of Lord Rama, celebrated across the country with religious fervour today.
Amid blowing of conch shells and rendering of devotional songs, the faithful offered prayers at illuminated temples as huge posse of policemen stood guard outside famous shrines.
With tight security in place, nearly ten lakh pilgrims took a holy dip in surging waters of river Ganges at Haridwar on the auspicious occasion.
They also paid obeisance at the temples in the holy city where a three-month-long Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious congregation, is on.
In South India, devotees celebrate the occasion as the day of wedding of Lord Rama with his consort Sita.
The national capital saw men, women and children, carrying offerings to the deities, flocking to decorated temples since dawn to offer prayers.