As evening fell over Ayodhya on Monday and a thin fog began to set in, thousands of residents and visitors spilled onto the streets, illuminating the temple town in hundreds of thousands of diyas, even as a laser show enraptured devotees on the Ram ki Paidi ghats along the Sarayu river.

Ayodhya, home to just around 250,000 people, was bathed in sights and sounds dedicated to Lord Ram, whose idol was consecrated at a grand temple earlier that day, with chants of “Jai Shri Ram” echoing through the town’s narrow lanes.

“We have waited for 500 years for this day. Finally, the day has arrived and now Ram Lalla has been enthroned in his rightful place (sanctum-sanctorum) of the temple,” said Satyendra Das, head priest of the Ram Temple.

“After a long wait and legal battle, the Ram Mandir has finally come up in Ayodhya,” said Shalabh Kapoor, a resident who visited Ram Ki Paidi to celebrate the occasion with his friends.

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People packed the banks of the Sarayu river, with firecrackers, earthen lamps to mark, as others made rangolis outside their doorsteps.

Temples across the town were also illuminated, as were Karsevakpuram and Mani Ram Das Chhavni, nerve centres of the Ram Mandir movement in the 1980s and 1990s.

The popular Lata Mangeshkar Chowk was decorated with lights and flowers.

Special rituals were carried out at Dashrath Mahal, where Lord Ram’s father King Dashrath is said to have lived.

Ayodhya mayor Girishpati Tripathi said, “The air was charged with enthusiasm and joy, as devotees gathered at the Hanuman Garhi Temple. The festival of lights unfolded a tapestry of faith and joy with devotees lighting lamps on the Sarayu riverbank, Ram Ki Paidi, temples and other public spaces.”

Nirmal Singh, president of the Alambagh Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, who participated in the consecration ceremony, said, “Even those who travelled to Ayodhya from outside the sacred city participated, symbolically lighting a lamp to mark the auspicious occasion.”