E-Paper
50% construction done, Ayodhya temple to open for devotees in Jan 2024: Trust
Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khestra — the trust overseeing the construction work of the grand temple — said: “Around 15% work related with the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir has been completed.”
Around 50% construction work of the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya has been completed and it will be opened to devotees in January 2024 after the installation of idols of the deity, people familiar with the development said on Tuesday.
Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khestra — the trust overseeing the construction work of the grand temple — said: “Around 15% work related with the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Mandir has been completed.”
The trust has set December 2023 as the deadline for completion of the ground floor of the Ram temple after which devotees will be allowed entry.
“Grand celebrations for opening of Ram Mandir will start in December this year and will continue till Makar Sankranti on January 14, 2024,” Rai told reporters. “Idols of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti in 2024.”
The main temple is being constructed on a space of 350 feet by 250 feet area and it will have 12 gates made up of teak wood, he said. A total of 166 pillars will installed be on the ground floor, 144 on the first floor and 82 pillars on the second floor of the temple.
“Around 4.70 lakh cubic feet carved stones will be used for construction of the main structure of Ram temple. Pillars and stone slabs carved at the workshop in Ayodhya are being used first,” said Rai.
The trust is also operating three workshops at Pindwara village in Rajasthan’s Sirohi district.
“Carved stones from the three workshops in Pindwara have also started reaching Ayodhya. There is no shortage of stones,” said another member of the Trust.
White Makrana marbles from Rajasthan’s Nagaur district will be used in the construction of the sanctum sanctorum, he added.
The Trust has also prepared a master plan for remaining area of the Ram Janmabhoomi left after construction of the temple.
Trust has prepared a master plan for remaining area of Ram Janmabhoomi which will be left after construction of a grand temple.
According to the master plan, temples of Ramayan-era saints will be built in the space left after Ram Mandir construction.
As per the plan, temples dedicated to Rishi Valmiki, Acharya Vashisth, Rishi Vishwamitra, Agastya Rishi, Nishad Raj, Jatayu, and Mata Sabri will also be constructed within a 70-acre area in the vicinity of the Ram temple.
In the remaining space, pilgrim facilities such as Yagya Mandap, Anusthan Mandap, Sant Niwas, museum, research centre and library will be constructed, as per the proposal.
Infrastructure developers, Larsen and Toubro, have been employed to carry out the construction work while Tata Consulting Engineers are working as the management consultant of the project.
On October 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inspected the construction work of the temple during his visit to Ayodhya to celebrate Deepotsav. Jagdish Aapde, project manager of the Ram temple, had apprised Modi about the ongoing construction work.
“We told him that granite stones will not absorb even a drop of water and so, there will be no damage to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple for a thousand years,” Aapde said, adding the Prime Minister was happy with the progress of the project.
Prime Minister Modi had performed the “bhoomi pujan” for the construction of the temple on August 5, 2020, after the Supreme Court on November 9, 2019 paved the way for the temple in Ayodhya.
