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Month-long testing of foundation pillars for Ram temple begins
Around 1,200 pillars will be laid about 100 feet below the surface to prepare the temple’s foundation. The pillars will be subjected to various tests for around a month to check strength and durability.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Friday started the piling work for testing the foundation of pillars for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, an office-bearer of the trust said.
Around 1,200 pillars will be laid about 100 feet below the surface to prepare the temple’s foundation. In technical terms, this process is called piling. To begin with, one pillar, a metre-long in diameter, will be laid 100-feet below the ground. This pillar will be subjected to various tests for around a month to check its strength and durability.
“Testing for the foundation work started today (Friday). The first pillar will be laid today. For around a month, various tests will be conducted on this pillar to check its strength and durability,” said Champat Rai, general secretary of the trust.
“After completing all tests, from around October 15, work will begin for laying the remaining 1,199 pillars,” Rai added.
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Four Casagrand machines, renowned for work on foundations, are being used for the piling process. These pillars will be of stone and no iron will be used. Another foundation layer will be placed on these pillars. Leading construction company, Larsen and Toubro, is carrying out the temple work. The proposed Ram temple will be 360 feet long, 235 feet wide and 161 feet high.
According to the trust, the temple’s foundation will be laid by using modern techniques so that it can be preserved for more than 1,500 years and the structure for 1,000 years.
Larsen and Toubro took the help of experts from Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee and IIT-Madras to make the temple’s foundation strong so that it can withstand earthquakes and storm for more than 1,500 years.
On September 2, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) approved two layouts for Ram Janmabhoomi after fixing a fee of Rs 2.11 crore and paved way for the trust to start construction work of the temple. After the trust deposited the fee, the ADA handed over the layouts to the trust.
On November 9, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
