LUCKNOW: For the first time in the last three decades, the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, one of the outfits along with Vishwa Hindu Aprishad (VHP) spearheading the temple movement and supervising the preparations of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya, has stopped the chiselling of stones at the Nyas Karyashala (workshop) just ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on the title suit in vexed issue pending
for decades.
The work in the Nyas workshop in the temple town was stopped some three-four days ago after “a decision was taken to that effect in order to maintain an atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in the town ahead of the final verdict,” said Sharad Sharma, regional spokesman of VHP. He added that the wait was for the Supreme Court’s verdict. Thereafter, Nyas would decide on resuming the work.
Amid the flood of pilgrims owing to back-to-back festivals and yatras in the temple town, the workshop was wearing a deserted look as artisans used to work day and night on the stone slabs lying there in hundreds and meant to be a part of the proposed Ram temple.
Post demolition, when majority of Hindu outfits including Sangh and its associated organisations were banned, the chiselling of stones had continued unabated in the workshop.
“It is a gesture to keep the religious tempers under check as the temple town is now inundated with pilgrims who have been thronging Ayodhya for 14-kosi and panch kosi yatras followed by the bathing in Saryu on Kartik Purnima,” added an office bearer of Nyas.
The Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas is the supreme body of saints which has been spearheading the Ram Mandir movement across the country since the 1990s. However, large number of devotees were visiting the ‘Karyashala’ just to have a glimpse of the stone slabs and also the pillars already carved out with
religious motifs.
“The visitors wanted to see and touch the piles of stones pillars, ceiling slabs, floor slabs and slabs for steps, all in red stone, for the proposed temple, in reverence. The workshop was set on August 30, 1990 after the the ‘Shilanyas’ for the temple on November 10, 1989. Consignments of stones had started pouring in since then. Carving began in 1992 but the work slowed down since 1997 because of the
pendency of the case in various courts of law.
Since the Yogi Adityanath government took over, work has picked up once again. The workshop is around 3 km away from the site of proposed temple. The workshop has two giant stone cutters. There is a shed that works as the workplace for the stone-carvers.
Hate messages appear on social media
All the efforts being one at different levels to maintain peace ahead of the Ayodhya verdict may go haywire if the use of social media would not be monitored assiduously and some notorious elements are already in play and posting hate messages on social networking sites through fake accounts in the name of Ramayan characters, said police.
Taking note of such posts, SSP (Meerut) Ajay Kumar Sahni has ordered an inquiry into the issue directing the IT cell to expose the social media offenders. As per the police sources, notorious elements had created twitter accounts in the name of Ram, Lakshman, Hanuman, Vibhishan, Sita and other characters of Ramayan and were circulating hate messages on social media.
“The cyber cell has already started working on the issue and soon people behind such these fake accounts and hate messages would be exposed,” said a senior official of Meerut police. Meanwhile, cops also convened meetings Muslim clerics and members of other groups to maintain peace ahead of the Ayodhya verdict.
In the middle of the workshop lies a wooden model of the proposed temple andd on a side of it are quarters for workshop staff and artisans.