LUCKNOW: Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has expressed hope that by the construction work’s speed rate, Ayodhya Ram temple is expected to be completed by September this year, three months earlier than the December target date. 70 per cent of the construction has been wrapped up and the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is being built swiftly the trust says.
Releasing the latest photos of the upcoming sanctum sanctorum, where the idols of the child form of Lord Ram along with his brothers will be consecrated, one of the trustees Dr Anil Mishra said that the companies engaged in the project were confident of completing the work before the deadline.
“We are confident that the sanctum sanctorum will be completed three months before the due date. That’s why we have advanced the deadline from December 2023 to September 2023,” said Mishra.
He added, “With a majority of the work for the first phase of the temple complete, only 167 pillars are left to be installed in the temple. The construction of the roof of the temple will also start in May.”
The pictures show doors, frames and 20-foot-high walls taking shape at the construction and all pillars erected in the sanctum sanctorum. White marble from Makrana and stones from Bansi Paharpur in Rajasthan are used in the development. Singhdwar and ornate pillars are also visible in the pictures. Of the total 32 steps that devotees will climb to reach the sanctum sanctorum, 24 have been constructed.
“The work of installing around 200 carved beams of the sanctum sanctorum will begin shortly. The beams are being carved in the workshops at Ramsevak Puram and Ramghat,” Mishra said.
As per the VHP regional sources, a grand 'pran pratishtha' (consecration of the idols of the deity) will be held in Ayodhya in January 2024 before it is opened for devotees.