Ayodhya Ram temple's ground floor to be ready by October

The ground floor of the three-storey Ram temple in Ayodhya is in its final stages and the work on ancillary structures is going on in full swing for their completion by October this year, the temple authorities said on Monday.

"The progress (in construction) of the ground floor of the Ram temple was reviewed recently by senior members of the trust, including chairman of construction committee Nripendra Misra," according to a statement.

Engineering teams of Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consulting Engineers and representatives of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust participated in the review of the construction work, it added.

"Shri Ram Temple, Ayodhya, enters final ground floor construction phase.... The construction work on infrastructure buildings is in full swing for completion by October 2023," the statement said.

The progress of the construction work is monitored on a daily basis by senior functionaries and actual issues are addressed, it added.

The committee said that after the completion of the temple foundation, raft and plinth, the placement of Rajasthan's Bansi Paharpur stone on the three-storey temple is in full swing.

Apart from the sanctum sanctorum, the temple has five mandaps -- Gudh Mandap, Rang Mandap, Nritya Mandap, Prathana Mandap and Kirtan Mandap.

"The dome size of the five mandaps are 34 feet in width and 32 feet in length and height from the courtyard ranging from 69 feet to 111 feet,” the statement said.

The temple is 380 feet in length, 250 feet in width and 161 feet high from the courtyard, it added.

The entire sanctum sanctorum has been aesthetically carved with Makrana marble pillars, beams, ceiling and wall cladding. There are 392 pillars which have been structurally provided taking into consideration the load factor and other climatic challenges.

The door of sanctum sanctorum will be designed with gold, the statement said.

To provide longevity and durability, the construction committee said, the material has been selectively picked up for the temple.

"The total area of the temple, including the peripheral 'parkota', is 8.64 acres. The 'parkota' is 762 metres long with provision for six temples and facility of 'parikrama' by devotees,” it said.

The temple is being constructed following the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri masjid land dispute.

In its ruling on November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court mandated that a Ram temple be built on the site where the Babri Masjid once stood and that five acres be set aside for the construction of a mosque within the district of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.