E-Paper
Expert committee to review Ram temple foundation work
The committee is likely to submit its report and recommendations to the Trust by December 15. However, this date may be extended.
The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has constituted an expert committee of engineers headed by a former director of IIT-Delhi to review the Ram temple foundation work in Ayodhya and give its recommendations.
Prof VS Raju, former director of IIT-Delhi, is chairman of this eight-member committee. Prof N Gopala Krishnan, director, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, has been appointed the convenor of this committee.
Other members are Prof SR Gandhi, director, NIT, Surat; Prof TG Sitharam, director, IIT Guwahati; Prof B Bhattacharjee, Prof Emeritus, IIT Delhi; AP Mull, consultant, Tata Consultant Engineers; Prof Manu Santhanam, IIT Mumbai; and Prof Pradipta Banerji, IIT Mumbai.
This committee will be provided all details and reports available with the Trust, Larsen and Toubro and Tata Consultant Engineers. These details include architectural and structural design, soil testing and piling test reports among others.
The committee is also authorized to have discussion and dialogue with design team of the Larsen and Toubro, design review team of TCE, CBRI-Roorkee and IIT-Madras and seek details, data and documents in connection with their work.
The committee is likely to submit its report and recommendations to the Trust by December 15. However, this date may be extended.
“A committee has been constituted to review foundation work related with Ram temple and to suggest effective measures required for the temple’s foundation,” said Champat Rai, general secretary of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust.
Objectives of the committee include:
* Review soil investigations carried out by Larsen and Toubro.
* Evaluation of the possibility of liquefaction of soil under seismic hazards and suggestions for safeguards.
* Review of precedents of similar structures constructed in the recent past in either India or abroad and whether the methodology adopted is appropriate for the Ram temple/
* Review of foundation system proposed by Larsen and Toubro, keeping in view the quality of construction and longevity of the temple considering sub-soil conditions, including toxic chemicals present in the sub-soil, environmental factors, superimposed dead and live loads, seismic loads and underground water currents on account of the temple’s proximity to river Saryu.
* Review choice of construction material proposed by Larsen and Toubro keeping in view the desired service quality of construction and its longevity.
* Ageing of concrete in foundations and its deterioration due to sulphate attack, leaching, thawing-freezing / wetting-drying cycles etc.
* Consideration of proposed materials to be used in foundation and construction of Ram temple.
