Ram temple fund drive to start with contributions from prominent personalities: Trust official

The campaign, Samarpan Abhiyan, will start with contributions from President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust

Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust, said on Saturday that the campaign to collect funds for the construction of a grand temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya will start on January 14 and will continue till February 27, 2021.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes part in the Ram temple “Bhoomi Pujan”, in Ayodhya on August 5.(ANI FILE)

“The campaign, Samarpan Abhiyan, would start with contributions from President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

Rai was speaking at the first ‘Sant Sammelan’ of the ‘Kashi Pranth’ held by the Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s office at Kesar Bhavan here.

Addressing saints and other participants, Champat Rai said that the campaign in every city would start with a contribution by prominent persons like its first citizen, the Mayor. “A whopping 55 crore members of 12 crore Hindu families of over 5 lakh villages of the country would be joining this mission, for which 1 lakh small groups of volunteers, each comprising a minimum of three persons, would remain on their toes,” he added.

He said that each day’s collection would be deposited in bank accounts, and for this, arrangement has been made in State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda. The funds would be collected using Rs 10 to Rs 100 coupons of varied sizes, all which would bear pictures of Lord Ram and the proposed Ram temple, he added.

Chairing the meet, noted saint a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust, Swami Vasudevanand, said that for the service of Lord Ram, everyone’s support is needed.

The president of Akhil Bhartiya Akhada Parishad, Mahant Narendra Giri, shared that the akhada would issue an appeal to the people to join in and support this find collection campaign. Saints from Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Sultanpur and Amethi, besides other places, attended the meeting.