Jammu, Jan 16 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday called for a public holiday on January 22 in view of the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The party's J&K unit chief Manish Sahni said there was a great enthusiasm among devotees regarding the consecration ceremony and urged the J&K administration to issue directions to keep liquor and meat shops closed for the day.

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"The inauguration of the Lord Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22 and the ‘Pran Pratistha' ceremony is eagerly awaited. We demand that January 22 be declared a public holiday," Sahni told reporters here.

"We request the cooperation of everyone to keep meat and liquor shops closed on January 22," he said.

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The party has formally submitted a written request to the chief secretary and divisional commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir regarding it, he said.

Sahni also said there was an open invitation for a ‘maha aarti' at the Kalaram Temple in Nashik, Maharashtra, to be conducted by party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

"Shiv Sainiks of Jammu and Kashmir present in this holy ceremony will take the blessings of Lord Shri Ram," he added.

The Kalaram Temple in Nashik is dedicated to Lord Ram and is believed to be the place where he stayed during his exile with Sita and Laxman, he 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)