Ayodhya: Construction of Ram temple foundation now over, opening before 2024 polls
The construction of Ram temple foundation in Ayodhya is complete, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in its ‘bhoomi pujan’. The foundation for the temple has now been filled with the final, 48th layer of roller-compacted concrete, temple trust members told reporters on Thursday.
This was the first time that the trust, tasked with building a temple at a spot where many Hindus believe Lord Ram was born, had invited journalists to see the construction site.
According to earlier reports, the site needed a strong foundation as the soil there is unstable.
A 50-foot deep pit, 400-ft by 300 ft, was first excavated. Over the months, it has been filled 12-inch layers of compacted cement and other building material, including small stones and fly ash.
Ram temple trust member Anil Misha said an aft will now be built on this. That will be topped by a plinth made out of about 4 lakh cubic feet of pink stone from Mirzapur. The temple will come up on this base.
Temple trust general secretary Champat Rai said one lakh cubic feet of carved slabs of stone from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur are ready for the construction that would follow.
Discussions are also on with experts on the construction of the outer walls of the temple complex.
The Ram temple trust was set up after the Supreme Court settled the Ram Janmaboomi-Babri Masjid land dispute in 2019, paving the way for the construction of the temple on the disputed site.
The Babri mosque at the site was demolished in 1992 by kar sevaks.
The temple is expected to be opened to devotees by 2023-end but the construction is likely to be completed only in 2025.
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