Ayodhya temple: Work to remove debris begins

Work for digging the foundation of the sanctum sanctorum (Garbha Griha) of the proposed Ram temple began on Thursday in Ayodhya after getting a nod from the Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which has been entrusted with the task for the construction of the temple.

The 15-member trust, headed by former bureaucrat Nripendra Mishra, held a crucial meet on Thursday in Ayodhya to discuss the security issues. Trust members will again on Friday to finalize the design for foundation of the temple.

A day before the meeting, the trust had given the nod to the agencies engaged in construction to remove debris and garbage in and around sanctum sanctorum and press machinery for digging foundation at places already identified by Larsen and Tourbo engineers.

The chief priest Satyendra Das told mediapersons that the work at the sanctum sanctorum began on Thursday after performing a havan and puja as per Vedic traditions at Garbha Griha housing Lord Lala statues.

The ISRO had done the GPR survey of the land in and around construction site last year. In the survey, it was found that that the actual earth for laying foundation was below 50 feet. The trust General Secretary Champat Rai said that the removal of debris and garbage is the main task before laying the foundation. “We expect to finish off the removal of the debris by February 15 to speed up foundation digging,” said Rai.

Trust members on Thursday held a high-level meeting with the Commissioner, District Magistrate, SSP and other senior officials to take stock of the security arrangements for the Ram Janambhoomi complex. The meeting was attended by Trust Chairman Nripendra Mishra, General Secretary Champat Rai, Govind Dev Giri, Dr Anil Mishra, Vimlendra Pratap Singh, Ashish Sompura and others.