Ayodhya Ram Mandir Inauguration Holiday Full List Latest News: Amid all the buzz of Ram Lalla’s ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony at grand Ayodhya temple in Uttar Pradesh, several states across India have announced public holidays, bank holidays, school holidays and half-days for office goers on January 22. State officials say that the holidays have been announced so that more and more people can become part of the mega consecration ceremony next week. So which state has announced public holidays? Are all banks across India closed on January 22? Will schools be closed around the country for the ceremony? Here’s state-wise breakup of holidays across India:
Full list of states that have announced complete public holiday on January 22:
Uttar Pradesh: The state will be at the epicenter of the mega January 22 celebrations. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced a full public holiday on January 22. This means that all schools, colleges other educational institutions along with government offices will remain shut on January 22. CM Yogi has urged the people of UP to celebrate January 22 as second Diwali.
Goa: Apart from Uttar Pradesh, Goa has also announced full public holiday on January 22. Earlier, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the state administration has recognised the national ‘enthusiasm’ for Ram Lalla pran pratishtha, thereby mandating shutdown of schools and government offices on January 22.
Chhattisgarh: The BJP-ruled state government has announced full public holiday on January 22. According to the official communication, all schools – government and private will also remain closed on the occasion of pran pratishtha event.
Haryana: The Manohar Lal Khattar government has announced that all schools in the state will remain closed on January 22. The state government has also announced ban on consumption of alcohol on the day of pran pratishtha ceremony.
List of states that have announced half-day holiday on January 22:
Odisha: Unlike Goa and Uttar Pradesh, the Naveen Patnaik government has declared half-day closure of all govt offices and courts on January 22 till 2:30 pm. There is no news on closure of the educational institutions in the state on January 22.
Gujarat: The Bhupendrabhai Patel government has also announced that the government offices will remain closed till 2:30 pm on January 22. This means there would be no public holiday but half-day closure in Gujarat. Again, there is no official circular on closure of schools and colleges.
Madhya Pradesh: In line with central government’s half-day closure of offices, Madhya Pradesh administration has also announced closure of government offices and other institutions across state till 2:30 pm.
Tripura: This state has also announced half-day closure of govt officials along with schools and colleges on January 22 till 2:30 pm.
Assam: The Himanta Biswa Sarma government has announced partial holiday on January 22. All government offices, schools and colleges will remain closed till 2:30 pm on January 22.
Rajasthan: It is among those states that have announced partial holiday on January 22.
Is January 22 a bank holiday?
There’s a lot of confusion over the bank holiday on January 22. It should be noted that all public sector banks will be closed for half day on January 22. This has been confirmed by the Department of Personnel and Training’s official circular.
What about private banks and offices?
While some states have announced full public holiday on January 22, there is no clear communication on operations of private banks across India. Latest reports say that customers have been told to enquire from local branch of their respective bank.
What about courts across India?
While the Bar Council of India has already sent a letter to the Chief Justice of India asking for announcement of a holiday for all courts across India, there is no word from CJI office.
Reliance Industries announcement
On Friday, Reliance Industries announced the closure of all its offices on January 22, 2024, in coordination with the forthcoming Ayodhya Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony, as per PTI reports.