In order to expand the 70-acre Ram temple complex, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra has purchased at least 4,514 sq metre adjoining land in Ayodhya, where some of the oldest temples, including Kaushalya Bhavan, Fikerah Ram Mandir and Deen Kuti Mandir, are situated.
Around 250 to 300 years old, these temples share their boundaries with the Ram Janmabhoomi campus.
Mahant Kaushal Kishore Tripathi and Mahant Yashoda Nandan Tripathi, aka Mahant Lalluji, two brothers who own the 1,881 sq metre Kaushalya Bhavan, have been paid ₹4 crore and an alternative plot.
“(Trust general secretary) Champat Rai, the Ayodhya mayor and (Trust member) Anil Mishra came to meet us to request for handover of the Kaushalya Bhavan for expansion of the Ram Janmabhoomi campus,” said Mahant Yashoda Nandan Tripathi.
“Since ages, people have been waiting for the Ram Mandir to come up in Ayodhya. Now, when the temple is being constructed, the Trust wants our land for expansion of the Ram Janmabhoomi. We have handed over (sold) the property to the Trust,” added Tripathi.
Mahant Raghuvar Saran of 2,633 sq metre Fikerah Ram Mandir, too, has been given ₹3.70 crore and an alternative land. “My temple is inside the Ram Janmabhoomi. I had no option but to accept the Trust’s offer to sell the land for expansion of Ram Mandir,” said Saran.
{{/usCountry}}Mahant Raghuvar Saran of 2,633 sq metre Fikerah Ram Mandir, too, has been given ₹3.70 crore and an alternative land. “My temple is inside the Ram Janmabhoomi. I had no option but to accept the Trust’s offer to sell the land for expansion of Ram Mandir,” said Saran.
{{/usCountry}}“But I had demanded alternative land in the Ramkot area only for my new temple. I did not want to move out of this locality,” he added.
The Trust has purchased Deen Kuti Mandir for ₹30 lakh from Mahant Sant Das. Das, however, handed over the amount to his followers before his death in May this year.