LUCKNOW: The dates of ‘bhoomi pujan’ and commencement of temple construction will be decided in the next meeting of the trust, which is to be held on March 3rd and 4th, said Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das and senior VHP leader Champat Rai.
A day after meeting PM Narendra Modi in Delhi, temple trust chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das made it clear that there would be no ‘shilanyas’ for the temple as it had already taken place in 1992 when makeshift temple was set up at the birthplace of Lord Ram on Janmabhoomi premises.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to take part in it the Bhoomi Pujan,” he added.
Trust’s General Secretary and senior VHP leader Champat Rai expressed hope that the model proposed by Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas and VHP together in 1984 would be approved by the trust members.
Refuting the reported demand for more land by the Trust, Champat Rai said that there was no dearth of land for the proposed temple. “We need only 3.5 acre of land for the main temple of Lord Ram as per the model suggested by us. It will have the main structure built over one acre land and a corridor spread over
rest 2.5 acres. Thus, the 70 acre land which has been handed over to the trust is sufficient for the development of Ramjanambhoomi complex,” said Rai.
He also met the officials of State Bank Of India in Ayodhya to discuss over completion of modalities for opening an account to receive donation money for temple construction.
While the date for ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ is yet to be finalised by the ‘Shree Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust’, the offers of donations for the temple have started pouring in from across the nation.
In fact, the trail of donations had started right after the deliverance of Supreme Court order on November 9, 2019. The first among those, who handed over the first cheque of Rs 2 crore as donation for temple last week, was former IPS officer and Patna’s Mahavir temple trust chairman, Kunal Kishore.
Kishore had promised a donation of Rs 10 crore for the temple construction, which will be given in five instalments of Rs 2 crore each. He also wants to get the pulpit of Ram Lalla and the walls of sanctum sanctorum plated with pure gold.
However, Ayodhya DM Anuj Jha made it clear that any amount or cheque of donation would be accepted only after a bank account in the name of ‘Shree Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust’, was opened.
After the announcement was made by trust chief Mahant Nritya Gopal Das that trust would not seek any financial help from state or central government for the temple construction and that it would be done through crowd funding, many prosperous spiritual and religious centres from across the nation have come forward to donate.
If the sources are to be believed, Dr Vishwanath Karad, a know social activist and founder chairman of World Peace Centre, in Alandi Maharashtra is planning to donate Rs 4000 crore for temple construction.
The Ayodhya Traders’ Rights Association convenor and a local business man Sushil Jaiswal has also announced to donate Rs 5 lakh for the temple construction. A number of Muslims have also come forward to make donations for the temple.
While UP Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi had sworn Rs 51,000, Dr Nihal Raza, a social activist and district chairman of Rudauli chapter of Lion’s Club, has offered to donate Rs 11,000 as his contribution to temple construction.