WATCH latest photographs of construction work of Ayodhya’s Ram temple

The latest photographs of the construction work of the Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya have been shared by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, a trust constituted to look after the construction and management of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Mandir. The pictures show the construction of the Ram Mandir going on at full pace. More than 80 per cent of construction work on the temple’s ground floor has been completed, Champat Rai, the general secretary of the trust, told media earlier this week. The consecration ceremony of Lord Rama’s idol at Ram Janmabhoomi is expected to be held between January 15 and 24, the exact date of the function is yet to be announced. Ayodhya Ram temple will not require any repairs Rai said Ayodhya’s Ram temple will not require any repairs for another one thousand years. Even an earthquake of 6.5 on the Richter scale would not be able to shake the foundation of the temple, he claimed. No steel, iron used anywhere in temple The foundation of the temple was 50 feet deep and was completely made of stones, cement and other materials. No steel or iron was being used anywhere in the temple building, Rai said. [caption id=“attachment_12896022” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image courtesy: @ShriRamTeerth/Twitter[/caption] As many as 17,000 granite stones, each weighing 2 tons, are being used in the temple. Apart from this, 4 lakh cubic feet of pink stones from Mirzapur were being used for constructing the plinth and 1 lakh cubic feet of carved marble from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur were used for sculpting the spire. “A total of 162 pillars are ready and more than 4,500 idols are being carved on these pillars by artisans from Kerala and Rajasthan. The idols will offer the devotees a glimpse of the Treta Yug,” Rai said. Sharing more details, Rai said the frame of the temple is made of marble and the doors are of teakwood from Maharashtra. The idol of Lord Ram would be installed on the first floor of the temple. By the month of October, the work on the ground floor of the temple will be completed, said the Trust general secretary. Last month, the chairman of the temple construction committee Nripendra Mishra said that the Ram temple is likely to open for devotees on January 24, 2024, after the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol which will be a 10-day ritual. “Between January 14 and January 24, a 10-day ritual of Ram Lalla’s ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration) will be observed,” Mishra said. [caption id=“attachment_12896042” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Image courtesy: @ShriRamTeerth/Twitter[/caption] Ayodhya hotels witness rise in advance bookings Hotels in Ayodhya have been witnessing a rush as travel agents and devotees continue to book rooms in advance. As per a report by PTI, hoteliers and resort owners in Ayodhya are expecting a massive influx of devotees to witness the historic event with several of them claiming that visitors are trying to book rooms for 10 to 12 days to ensure that they do not miss out on the historic event at the last moment. Divisional Commissioner (DC) Gaurav Dayal convened a meeting of hotel owners of Ayodhya on Wednesday and instructed them to decorate their properties to give a warm welcome to their guests during the consecration ceremony. In Faizabad and Ayodhya, there are around 150 hotels, including 10 luxurious hotels, 25 budget hotels, 115 economy hotels, 35 unrecognised guest houses, 50 dharamshalas, 50 homestay/paying guest houses, accounting for a total of 10,000 rooms in the districts.