RAM TEMPLE LIKELY TO OPEN FOR PUBLIC BY DECEMBER 2023

NEW DELHI: The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be opened to the public by the end of 2023, even though the entire complex is expected to be ready only by 2025, a person aware of the matter said on Wednesday.

The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020, and a year on, construction is on in full swing. The ground floor of the temple, where the sanctum sanctorum will be located and where an idol of Ram Lalla will be placed, will be ready for prayers by December 2023 and arrangements are being made to streamline the process of providing security clearances and installing public amenities, said another person aware of the details.

The temple complex, which is expected to incur a cost of ₹900-1,000 crore and will be spread over 110 acres of land, is being built by Larsen & Toubro while Tata Consulting Engineers has been signed on as the project management consultant. The temple complex will also have a museum, a research centre, and an archival centre. “The temple trust has already received donations in the excess of ₹3,000 crore. And this amount is excluding donations from non-resident Indians as foreign donations are not yet permitted,” said the first person quoted above.

The work is on to fill the excavation that was carried out on the land parcel. Given the composition of the soil, the construction technique to ensure the stability of the structure involved excavating 12 metres or nearly three storeys below the ground.

Earlier in 2019, the Supreme Court had handed over the site for the building of a Ram temple after years of litigation following the razing of the 16thcentury Babri Masjid in 1992.