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'Ram mandir will be national temple of India': Yogi at foundation stone ceremony
Ram Temple garbagriha: UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and saints from around 90 maths and temples, were also present at the ceremony.
The Ram mandir being built in Ayodhya will be 'the national temple of India', Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Wednesday after an event to lay the foundation stone of the temple's 'garbhagriha', or sanctum sanctorum. The chief minister said 'people have been waiting for this day since a long time, and added that "Ram mandir will be a symbol of India's unity."
"The construction work of Ram mandir in Ayodhya was started by prime minister Narendra Modi almost two years ago. The work is successfully proceeding and we are fortunate the ritual of keeping the stones in the 'garbhagriha' was initiated today," Yogi was quoted by news agency ANI.
READ: Yogi Adityanath lays first stone for construction of main Ram temple
In videos shared by ANI, Yogi can be seen placing a red brick into the side of a wall covered in garlands and intricate carvings as a priest chants slokas.
In another video Yogi - dressed in his trademark saffron robes - can be seen placing a symbolic layer of cement over another wall while more religious slokas are chanted and people around him applaud.
UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, and saints from around 90 maths and temples associated with the Ram mandir movement, were also present at the ceremony.
Last month a member of the Ram mandir construction committee, on condition of anonymity, said work on the temple is on track and will meet certain August deadlines.
"Construction of the three-storied temple, including the 'garbhgriha', or the sanctum sanctorum and five mandapas is proceeding as per schedule," the member told Hindustan Times.
The 'garbhgriha' - where the idol for worship will be installed - is expected to be ready by December 2023. Some 17,000 stones from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been used in this.
For the super structure of the temple, the stone is being procured from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur.
Last week the Rajasthan government granted environmental approval to 12 mines in the Bansi Paharpur area from where pink sandstone will be supplied for this purpose, officials said.
Environmental approval for another 12 mines will be granted by mid-July.
In August 2020, the prime minister laid the foundation stone for the construction of the temple.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court settled the long-standing religious dispute over the site and said it belongs to Lord Ram. The centre was told to set up a trust to manage construction. A five-judge constitution bench also said that a 'prominent site' in the same town would be allotted for a new mosque.
With input from ANI
