FirstUp: Puri Jagannath Corridor to open to public, and more... The headlines of today

It’s a busy Wednesday today. As we are inching closer to the historic inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on 22 January, the consecration rituals are already underway. With the Ram Lalla procession reaching the temple town today, there is also a grand inauguration of the Puri Jagannath Parikrama project in Odisha. On the other hand, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das will address the annual World Economic Forum in Dazos today and the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture will also commence in Germany. Here’s a short glimpse of how the day will unfold. Inauguration of Puri Jagannath Parikrama project in Odisha The Odisha government, led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, will embark on a month-long initiative to mobilise around 10,000 people daily for the Puri Jagannath Parikrama Project inauguration. The temple heritage corridor, encircling the revered Jagannath Temple in Puri, is scheduled for inauguration today. The government has also declared a public holiday today. RBI governor to address WEF Annual Meet Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will be addressing the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, today. [caption id=“attachment_13479932” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. PTI.[/caption] He will address a Luncheon with the CII session with the theme “High Growth, Low Risk: The India Story,” according to media reports. Notably, this is the first time ever an RBI governor will attend and give an address at a WEF Annual Meeting in Davos. Ram Lalla procession reaches Ayodhya A procession carrying the idol of Ram Lalla will reach Ayodhya today. Devotees carrying Saryu water in Mangal Kalash will also be reaching the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. [caption id=“attachment_13566662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Renowned sculptor Arun Yogiraj with idol of Ram Lalla, which has been chosen for the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Image Courtesy: @prahladJoshi/X[/caption] The rituals for the consecration ceremony began yesterday. Thackeray faction launches Stree Shakti Saamvad Yatra The Thackeray faction too has extended an olive branch to half of the electoral chunk by launching ‘Stree Shakti Saamvad Yatra’ today in Vidarbha. The three-day campaign will be implemented in every Lok Sabha constituency, like Nagpur, Ramtek, Amaravati, Yavatmal-Washim, Buldhana, etc., and will finish by the end of February making it a one-and-a-half-month campaign. Republic Day parade rehearsals begin in Delhi Ahead of Republic Day, the parade rehearsals are being held in the National Capital. The rehearsals shall be held on four days from 17 to 21 January. [caption id=“attachment_13353912” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Indian Army soldiers take part in the rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi in January 2022. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Due to the ongoing parade rehearsals, an advisory on traffic restrictions has been issued by the Delhi Police for commuters in the national capital. Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Germany Berlin is hosting the 16th GFFA 2024, starting today until 20 January. The theme for the conference is “Food Systems for Our Future: Joining Forces for a Zero Hunger World.” Hailstorms are likely in Assam The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a thunder, lightning, and hailstorm alert for several districts of Assam today. The ten districts where hailstorms are likely are Morigaon, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Dhemaji, Charaideo, Dibrugarh, and Tinusukia. China publishes population figures for 2023 The Xi Jinping-led country will be releasing data on its official population figures for 2023. According to Reuters, demographers estimate the data will show the number of new births last year falling below the 9.56 million in 2022 as long-standing issues such as gender inequality and high childcare costs remained largely unaddressed. For those unversed, Beijing’s birth rate has been declining since 2016. Court hearings

• Delhi court to hear Jacqueline Fernandez’s plea over alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar from issuing statements about her.
• Bombay HC to hear BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s PIL regarding a property owned by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s wife merely because it claims to highlight alleged irregularities.

Famous anniversaries today

• Birth anniversary of poet and composer Javed Akhtar
• Birth anniversary of actor, politician and former CM of Tamil Nadu, MG Ramachandran
• Birth anniversary of boxer Muhammad Ali
• Robert Falcon Scott reached the South Pole in 1912, one month after Roald Amundsen
• Captain James Cook and his crew became the first Europeans to sail below the Antarctic Circle in 1773
• The United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands in 1917
• Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by Elzie Segar, first appeared as a comic strip in 1929
• Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair came to light in 1998 when it was first published on the website, The Drudge Report

With inputs from agencies