Lucknow, April 15 (IANS): Lakhs of devotees took a holy dip in the Saryu river in Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama, on Friday as Ram Navmi was celebrated with traditional fervour here.

Heavy barricading was in place at the banks of the river and foolproof security bandobast were in place on all entry and exit points.

The festivities began at the Saryu banks and then at Kanak Bhawan. 

Important places like the Totadri Mutt, Birla Dharmshala, Madiramdas ji Chhawni, Ram Vallabh Kunj, Janki Mahal, Asharfi Bhawan, Sugriva Kila, Koshlesh Sadan have been decked up for the festival that is underway at more than 10,000 temples in the city of Faizabad.

ATS commandos, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been put on duty keeping in mind the alert sounded by central and state intelligence units of a possible terror plot to target the large gathering on Ram Navmi. 

A total of 23 close circuit TV cameras have been installed to keep an eye on people's movement in the town, a security official told IANS.