NEW DELHI, June 24: In just six months after the grand opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, the temple’s chief priest said water has been leaking from the ceiling during rainfall.
“In the first rain, the roof of the sanctum sanctorum where the idol of Ram Lalla was installed has started to leak,” Acharya Satyendra Das said. “Attention should be paid to the matter and to find out what was missing. It is very important. There is no space to drain water out of the temple.” He added: “If the rain intensifies, it would be difficult to offer prayers at the temple.”
The chief priest also expressed surprise, saying so many engineers are present at the temple and still water is leaking from the roof.
“It is very surprising. So many engineers are here, and the Pran Pratishtha was held on January 22, but water is leaking from the roof. Nobody would’ve thought this,” he said.
Nripendra Mishra, the chairperson of the Sri Ram Mandir Construction Committee, also confirmed that rainwater has been leaking from the first floor. He, however, clarified that this was expected as the ‘Guru Mandap’ is exposed.
“I am in Ayodhya. I saw the rainwater dropping from the first floor. This is expected because Guru Mandap is exposed to the sky as the second floor and completion of Shikhar will cover this opening,” Mr Mishra said. “I also saw some seepage from the conduit as this work on the first floor is in progress. On completion, the conduit will be closed. There is no drainage in the Sanctum Santorum because all the Mandaps have measured slope for clearance of water, and the water in Sanctum Santorum is manually absorbed.”
He added: “Moreover, the devotees are not performing Abhishek on the deity. There is no design or construction issue. The Mandaps which are open may get rainwater drops which was debated but the decision was to keep them open as per Nagar architectural norms.”
Mr Modi had presided over the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram temple in the presence of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, governor Anandiben Patel and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.
The prime minister had performed the last rituals of the ceremony by symbolically opening the eyes of the Ram Lalla idol with a golden stick, and ending the rites with aarti and shashtang pranam (prostration) to the deity.
Since its opening, the Ram temple has witnessed a massive influx of devotees from various parts of India and the world who continue to arrive in the temple town.
(Manas Dasgupta)