BENGALURU: The construction of the superstructure of the grand Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is going on in full swing. The long-held desire of devotees will soon come true as the first phase of construction will be completed by the end of Makar Sankranti and the Pran Pratishta ceremony will take place in January 2024.
Gopal ji, a member of the Kannadiga Ayodhya Ram Mandir Construction Committee, said, “The construction work of the Ram Mandir is going on in full swing. A 45-foot-deep concrete foundation has been laid up to the ground level. Construction of the raised platform work has also been completed. The work of placing 1,700 granite stones from Bengaluru will be soon completed in a week’s time. Next, pink-coloured stones from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur district will be laid. Around one lakh stones have been carved and have come to Ayodhya already.”
“Six hundred stones have already been laid and the raised platform is 20 feet high. The work on the first floor will be completed by January 2024. The other floors will take another 6–8 months. The Ram Mandir work will be completed in the next two years”, he added.
Construction of other structures on the temple premises is going on simultaneously. Devotees will be forbidden from carrying electronic items including pens and mobile phones, into the Ram Mandir. The Bala Rama idol will be opened for darshan during Sankranti in 2024, Gopal ji noted.