Less than six months after the grand consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the first monsoon rains have revealed significant construction flaws as the roof has started leaking.
Temple’s chief priest Acharya Satyendra Das confirmed that the roof of the temple started leaking during the recent rains, causing water to accumulate both inside the temple and in the surrounding complex.
The pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla took place on January 22 this year, and construction in the temple is still ongoing. Despite this, the leaking roof and waterlogged premises have raised serious concerns about the quality of the construction.
Acharya Satyendra Das said that the Ram Temple Construction Committee, led by Chairman Nripendra Mishra, was still working on various chambers where additional deities would be installed. These installations are expected to be completed by 2025.
“However, the immediate focus should be on addressing why the newly-constructed temple is leaking,” he said.
The pre-monsoon rains also caused significant damage to Ayodhya’s infrastructure. In just a few hours of heavy rain, five major roads caved in, including three locations on Ram Path. Additional damage was reported near Chowk on the Rikabganj Road and in front of the police lines, with large potholes appearing.
Notably, the Pushpraj Chauraha-Fatehganj Road, which was recently constructed, also suffered substantial damage, casting doubt on the quality of construction.
On Sunday night, torrential rains wreaked havoc on the city’s roads. A major section of the Pushpraj Chauraha-Fatehganj route near the police lines gate caved in, prompting local residents to place bricks and tree branches around the area to prevent accidents.
Similarly, a portion of Rikabganj road near the Chowk Ghantaghar collapsed while a car was passing, trapping the vehicle in the newly formed pothole.
The collapse on Chowk-Rikabganj road occurred at a site recently excavated for sewer pipeline installation under the Amrit Yojana project. After the sewer work was completed, the road was only temporarily filled with gravel instead of being properly repaired, leading to its collapse in the rain.
Local residents helped push the trapped car out of the hole, but the vehicle sustained damage.
Nitin Kumar, a local present at the scene, stated that the repair work was not up to standard.
Ram Path also failed to withstand the rain, with sections collapsing near Mukut Complex, the district hospital, and Rikabganj Chauraha. The road has previously shown signs of poor construction quality, even without rainfall, and the recent damage during the pre-monsoon showers has once again highlighted these issues.
Dhruv Agarwal, Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department, acknowledged the damage and said that officers of the department and workers had been sent to begin repair work immediately.
