Inner sanctum of Ram Temple to be ready by Dec 2023: VHP

The foundation of Lord Shri Ram's temple in Ayodhya will be completed by the end of September or the first week of October this year and Ram Lalla will be consecrated in the 'garbhagriha' (sanctum sanctorum) of the temple by December 2023 when devotees can take darshan, a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader said in Nagpur on Monday.

Speaking to reporters, VHP national general secretary Milind Parande also said the construction of the temple will take a little time but the 'garbhagriha' (sanctum sanctorum) will be in place by December 2023 with starting of puja ritual and darshan for devotees.

"The construction of the temple of Lord Ram in Ayodhya is going on ahead of time. The foundation of the temple will be completed by September-end or in the first week of October. Bhagwan Ram Lalla will sit in the 'garbhagriha' by December 2023," he said.

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has been entrusted with the task of the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had performed the Bhumi Pujan at the Ram Janmabhoomi in August 2020.

Anil Mishra, a trustee of Ram Mandir Trust, had told PTI earlier that the work on the base plinth for the temple will start with pink stones of Mirzapur in December this year.

About 50 layers of a 10-inch thick mixture of building material will be laid in about a 50-feet deep foundation measuring 400 feet long and 300 feet wide, he had said.

Six layers of building material mixture have been placed on top of the other over the foundation land spread across 2.77 acres, according to Mishra.

On November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court settled the fractious issue going back more than a century and backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site.