Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that he will attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.
The office bearers of Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra along with religious leaders went to invite the PM. The foundation stone of the Ram temple was laid by Mr. Modi on August 5, 2020.
Expressing happiness on receiving the invitation, the PM took to X and said, “I feel very blessed. It is my good fortune that in my lifetime, I will witness this historic occasion.”
Ram Temple Trust’s general secretary Champat Rai said that the idol of Lord Ram will be installed at the temple on January 22, and PM Modi has accepted their invitation.
The trust plans to invite over 4,000 Hindu religious leaders from 136 Sanatana traditions for the consecration ceremony. In addition to that, 25,000 dignitaries will also participate in the event.
The temple — which is being built after the Supreme Court, in its judgment in 2019, maintained that the Muslim community was wrongfully deprived of their 450-year-old mosque, but goes on to reject their claim for the exclusive title and possession of the land in Ayodhya — will spread in 71 acres of land. The area will have Ram Mandir on 2.77 acres which is divided into six parts, the main sanctum sanctorum (garbh greh) and five pavilions – gun mandap, rang mandap, nritya mandap, kirtan mandap and prarthna mandap. The temple will be 161-foot-high and will have three floors, each 19.5 feet.
The complex of Ram temple will also have temples of Shiva, goddess Annapurna and Bhagwati, Ganesha, Hanuman and Surya (sun). Temples of mythological saints like Valmiki, Vashisth, Viswamitra, Jatayu and Sabri are also planned in addition to other facilities like yagya/ anusthan mandap, a rest house for religious leaders and an administrative building etc.
The complex is being developed with the goal of zero discharge. Two sewerage treatment plants are planned and treated water will be used for flushing and irrigation purposes thus minimising the burden on the Municipal Corporation.
The temple construction committee has also acquired 71 acres of land to build the public utilities near the temple.
To avoid overcrowding in Ayodhya, the temple trust had urged the people of the country to avoid coming to the temple for the initial few days of the inauguration. They have also asked the VIPs to refrain from visiting Aydohya on the day of inauguration as this will lead to mismanagement.
Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat, in his Dasara speech on Tuesday, had asked the people of India to organise programmes at temples near their homes as a mark of celebration of Ram temple inauguration.
