NEW DELHI, June 20: The consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be performed on January 14, the Makar Sankranti day, in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the rituals will go on for 10 days, the chairman of Ram Mandir Construction Committee Nripendra Mishra said. ,
He said efforts would be to broadcast the consecration ceremony in the country and abroad. He said the ground floor of the temple, which would be completed by October, would be reserved for “Ram Katha” once the four-storey temple was completed.
The 360 ftX235 ft structure will have 160 columns on the ground floor, 132 columns on the first floor and 74 columns on the second floor. There will be five “mandaps” (pavilions). Around four lakh cubic feet of stone and marble from Rajasthan will be used for the structure, which will tower 161 feet over the sanctum sanctorum — there will be no use of steel or bricks.
The temple architecture is of Nagara style. It will have 46 teak wood doors. The door of the sanctum sanctorum will be gold studded. “The temple will stand for at least a thousand years,” Mishra said. While the main temple will be built over three acres, a perimeter wall will enclose the 9-acre complex. The wall will have sculptures depicting the Ramayana. The three gates and the spire of the temple will be gold plated. The completed temple complex will include a pilgrim facilitation centre, museum, archives, research centre, auditorium, a cattle shed, a platform for rituals, administrative buildings and lodging for priests.
(Manas Dasgupta)
