Just a day before the groundbreaking "bhoomi pujan" ceremony for Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra released photos of a proposed design of the temple.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. The construction of Ram temple will begin in Ayodhya after the said ceremony in which 175 dignitaries from political and religious fields are scheduled to participate via select guest list.
The Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be grander and bigger compared to the earlier plan with three new domes added to the design and the structure's height increased by 20 feet.
Nikhil Sompura, architect and son of C Sompura who is chief architect of the temple, had said height of the temple will be 161-feet, an increase of 20-feet from the previous design made nearly three decades ago.
"There is a lot of enthusiasm and the number of devotees visiting the temple will increase over time so we thought the size should be increased. The height of the temple has been increased from 141-feet to 161-feet," Nikhil Sompura had told news agency ANI.
The changes in design, which have the approval of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, will enable more devotees to be accommodated in the precincts of the temple and add to its magnificence.
Mahant Raju Das, senior priest of Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya, said the temple will have three more domes.
"We want a magnificent temple and for that, I would like to thank the temple trust. The temple will now have more domes. It will have three floors," Das told ANI.
Annu Bhai Sompura, Manager of Ram Mandir Nirman Karyashala, had said earlier that silver, gold and copper would also be used in the construction of the temple apart from stones and wood.
Gold and silver will be used in the design of the main doors of the temple, he said.
Moreover, Sompura said two mandaps have been added to the design.
"All pillars and stones that were carved based on the earlier design will be used," he said.
Supreme Court, on November 9 last year, had directed the Central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the construction of a Ram temple.
The formation of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust was announced on February 5 for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. The Trust has been mandated by the Central government to oversee the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
With inputs from ANI
