Raipur, Feb 14 (PTI) A special train with pilgrims left for Ayodhya from Raipur on Wednesday, days after Lord Ram Lalla's idol was consecrated in the temple in the Uttar Pradesh town.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off the "aastha" train with 1,344 pilgrims on board.

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Sai said he and Cabinet ministers will visit Ayodhya in March for the darshan of Lord Ram Lalla after the ongoing legislative Assembly session concludes.

Raipur MP Sunil Soni, MLA Dharamlal Kaushik, and others were present at the railway station when the train was flagged off.

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"On February 14, 1889, the first passenger train from Raipur to Bilaspur departed on the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchmi. In an auspicious coincidence, 1,344 devotees departed to Ayodhya for the darshan of Lord Ram Lalla on the same occasion on Wednesday," the chief minister said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)