The construction work of the grand Ram temple, being built in Ayodhya, is going on, on a war footing as over 60 per cent of the temple construction work has been completed and the goal is to complete the work of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple by December 2023 and install the idol of Ram Lalla at the garbhagriha on Makar Sankranti in 2024..
Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, said on Friday that the grand temple of Maryada Purushottam Lord Shri Ram would be ready before its fixed deadline.
“The construction of the temple is going on at a fast pace. By October 2023, the construction work of the first floor of the temple will be completed and ‘pran pratishthan’ ceremony will be performed between January 1 and January 14,” Rai said and added that about 62 per cent of the construction work of the temple had been completed so far.
The work of the temple is to be done in three phases. The work of the first phase will be completed in December 2023. This also includes the construction of the sanctum sanctorum.
Rai said that the idol of Lord Shri Ram, to be installed in the sanctum sanctorum, would be in the form of a 5-7 year child. Eminent sculptors of the country have already started brainstorming on how the fingers, face and eyes should be of that idol. Padma Shri awardee sculptors Sudarshan Sahu, Vasudev Kamat of Orissa and senior sculptor Ramaiah Wadekar of Karnataka are included in the panel of sculptures.
“The idol of Lord Shri Ram will be 8.5 feet tall, and it will take five to six months to sculpt it. For the idol, such stones will be selected which are of the color of the sky,” Rai said.
He said efforts were on to ensure that on the day of Ramnavami at 12 noon, the sun’s rays fall on Ram Lalla’s head to make it look as if the Sun God is applying a tilak.
According to the suggestion made by scientists, the head of Ram Lalla's idol should be eight feet seven inches above the floor, as only then the rays of sunlight will fall on it.
The Central Building Research Institute in Roorkee is working on it and the first trial has been successful, Rai said.
Rai said that there would be five more pavilions in addition to the sanctum sanctorum. There will be three pavilions from the entrance towards the sanctum sanctorum and two pavilions side by side. They will be called Kirtan Mandap.
“White marble has been used in the sanctum sanctorum. The wall and floor of the sanctum sanctorum will also be of marble. The walls around the sanctum sanctorum are ready. A circumambulation route is also being built around the sanctum sanctorum. About 7,000 idols will be carved on all the pillars and walls,” Rai said.
Trust's chief project manager Jagdish said that the construction work of the temple was going on 24 hours and the work on walls had started along with the main temple, which is spread over 10 acres along with the temple.