Govt exploring 'options within Constitution' for Ram temple Ayodhya, November 7 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the union government was working on "various options within the ambit of the Constitution to build a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya". On the second-day of his visit to the temple town of Ayodhya, the monk-politician prayed at the Hanumangarhi temple and declared that Ayodhya was the abode of "Ram Lalla' and that there "was a temple (at Ayodhya) and will always be there". He also visited the makeshift Ram Lalla temple at the disputed site where once stood the Babri mosque which was razed in 1992. Adityanath also met seers at the Digambar Akhara, visited the Saryu ghat, Sugreev Fort and also met Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The Chief Minister also inspected the site where a 150 metre tall statue of Lord Ram would be installed on a 50 feet pedestal. "We have grand plans for Ayodhya and we are working in that direction" he later told reporters. He also announced that a shelter home for widows and orphaned children would be set up in Ayodhya. On Tuesday, the state government had rolled out a never-seen-before spectacle of lights on the ghats of the holy river Saryu where more than 3 lakh earthern lamps were lit up. The First Lady of South Korea was present at the event. Petrol, diesel prices stay unchanged on Diwali New Delhi, November 7 (IANS): Following five consecutive days of cuts, state-run oil marketing companies kept prices of key domestic transport fuels -- petrol and diesel -- unchanged on Wednesday, on the festival of Diwali. According to the Indian Oil Corp data, petrol was priced at Rs 78.42 per litre in the national capital on Wednesday, which is its lowest level in the last over six weeks. Across the other major metros, petrol was priced at Rs 83.92 per litre in Mumbai, Rs 80.33 in Kolkata and Rs 81.46 in Chennai on Wednesday. As per the country's pricing mechanism, under the daily dynamic pricing regime, domestic fuel prices depend on international fuel prices on a 15-day average, besides the value of the rupee. Prices vary from region to region due to local taxes as the product is excluded from the GST regime. Delhi has the lowest tax rate among the four metros. In tandem with petrol, the cost of diesel remained unchanged on Wednesday across the four metros. The price of diesel in Mumbai was at Rs 76.57 per litre. Similarly, prices of diesel in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai were Rs 73.07, Rs 74.93 and Rs 77.24 a litre, respectively. Fuel prices have been reducing on the back of multiple factors such as lower international crude oil cost and a recovery in the rupee against the US dollar. Last month, the Centre announced a cut in excise duty by Rs 1.50 a litre. Additionally, the state-owned oil marketing companies had been mandated to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel by Re 1 a litre. Srinagar records season's coldest night Jammu/Srinagar, November 7 (IANS): Srinagar city recorded the season's coldest night at minus 2.2 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperatures throughout the Kashmir Valley dropped below the freezing point on Wednesday, the weather office said. "The minimum temperatures remained below the freezing point in the valley as Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far at minus 2.2 degrees Celsius," an official from the Met Department said. The night's lowest temperature was minus 5.2 degrees Celsius in Pahalgam and minus 6.6 in Gulmarg. The official said the minimum temperatures were likely to drop further due to clear night sky during the next three to four days. Kargil town at minus 9.0 degrees Celsius was the coldest town of Jammu and Kashmir followed by Leh at minus 8.4. Minimum temperatures also dropped in the Jammu division on Wednesday. Jammu city recorded 9.1 degrees Celsius, Katra 10.1, Batote 6.1, Bannihal 7.2 and Bhaderwah 4.0.
