LUCKNOW: Shree Ramjanmabhoomi Teerth Keshtra Trust has come out with a new date --January 14, 2024-- for the installation of the idol of Lord Ram in the sanctum sanctorum of the upcoming temple in Ayodhya.
According to temple trust general secretary Champat Rai, the idols of Lord Ram and his brothers would be placed in 'garbh grih' on the day of 'makarsankranti' in 2024.
Rai claimed that the under-construction ground floor of the three-storey temple would be completed by December 2023.
Champat Rai was interacting with media persons after a meeting with temple construction committee headed by retired IAS officer Nripendra Mishra in Ayodhya's circuit house on Monday night.
Moreover, Rai claimed that the cost of temple construction was also revised to Rs 1800 crore. "The expenses of the temple construction have been revised to Rs 1800 crore after 18-month deliberations," said Rai adding that the cost could further go up.
Earlier the temple's cost was estimated to be around Rs 400 crore.
Rai said that besides the rules and regulation to be followed in the temple trust, the installation of idols in the temple were discussed in the meeting. The meeting of the Building Construction Committee is a monthly affair in which the temple trust members also participate.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India will soon float tenders to broaden the four-lane Lucknow-Gorakhpur Highway crossing Ayodhya. The road approaching Ayodhya would be made six-lane to cater to the rush of devotees expected to throng the temple town once the temple is completed.
As per the highly placed sources, in the wake of a number of townships and villages situated along Lucknow-Ayodhya-Gorakhpur national highway, flyovers would be constructed where land to broaden the road would not be available. The NHAI has identified 40 such location on 269-km long Lucknow-Gorakhpur Highway where flyovers would be constructed.