Ayodhya Ram temple foundations to be ready by October; Ram Lalla Darshan by Dec 2023: VHP

The foundation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya will be completed by the end of September or the first week of October this year, and Ram Lalla will be consecrated in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple by December 2023, allowing devotees to take darshan, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader said on Monday. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, VHP national general secretary Milind Parande also said the temple's construction would take some time, but the ''garbhagriha'' will be in place by December 2023 with the starting of the puja ritual and darshan for devotees.

"The construction of the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya is going on ahead of time. The foundation of the temple will be completed by September-end or in the first week of October. Bhagwan Ram Lalla will sit in the ''garbhagriha'' by December 2023," he said.

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been entrusted with the responsibility of Ram temple construction in the UP's Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the Bhumi Pujan for the grand temple in August 2020.

The work on the base plinth for the temple is set to start using pink stones of Mirzapur in December this year, a trustee of Ram Mandir Trust had told PTI. He said that about 50 layers of a 10-inch thick building material mixture would be laid in about a 50-feet deep foundation measuring 400 feet long and 300 feet wide. According to Mishra, six layers of building material mixture have been placed on top of the other over the foundation land spread across 2.77 acres.

Ayodhya Ram Temple

On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court settled the fractious issue going back more than a century and backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site. 

Since the Trust opened donations for the temple's construction last year, upwards of Rs 3,000 crores have already been collected – all of which is in the Trust’s bank account. This is already way above the Rs 900-1,000 crores that would be needed for the construction of the Ram temple, sources informed. This money has come entirely from India, as the Trust does not have FCRA clearance for foreign donations yet. 

(With inputs from agency)

Image Credit: PTI