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Guwahati: Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya, who shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other VIPs during the groundbreaking ceremony for a proposed Ram Temple last week, has tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus.
The 82-year-old head of the Ram Temple trust was among the five people on the stage at the grand ceremony at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on August 5. He is currently in Mathura.
The others on the stage were Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel, and Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Sarvagya Ram Mishra, District Magistrate of Mathura, told reporters that the authorities were informed that Maharaj-Ji has some fever, so they sent a team of doctors and they investigated and gave medicines to the trust's head. "The fever is normal. He has mild breathlessness and we checked his oxygen level. It is saturated. There is nothing serious. We checked for coronavirus, did antigen test and there is positivity," he said.
He further added Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed that Maharaj-ji be shifted to the Medanta Hospital and that shall be done as soon as possible. Mahant is reportedly "stable."
It is to be noted that Nritya Gopal Das has also been heading the Ram Janambhoomi Nyas since 2003. It is an Ayodhya-based trust run by members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for the construction of the Ram Temple on the contested land.
PM Modi laid the first brick for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya at the mega ceremony last Wednesday; the PM visited the holy city to participate in the "Bhoomi Pujan" or the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple.
It may be recalled that days before the high-profile ceremony, a priest, Pradeep Das, and 14 policemen on duty in the Ram Janambhoomi complex had also tested positive for the dreaded coronavirus.