50 per cent of Ram temple construction is completed, to open to devotees in January 2024: Champat Rai

The grand Ram temple in Ayodhya will be open to devotees in January 2024 following the installation of the deity's idols, according to a prominent member of the trust established to oversee its construction. According to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Khestra, 50 per cent of the temple's construction work has been finished, and overall progress is satisfactory.

While talking to PTI, general trust secretary Champat Rai said, "The temple would be unveiled to worshipers in January 2024 following the installation of Ram Lalla statues in the shrine's sanctum sanctorum on the festival of Makar Sankranti."

He stated that the temple's ground floor will be completed by December of next year and that Lord Ram idols will be installed around January 14, 2024.

"Around Rs 1,800 crore is expected to be spent on the Ram temple," Rai said, adding that space will be made for idols of important Hindu seers.

On Tuesday, a group of journalists were led to the hilltop location where Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inspected the temple's building work on Sunday. On August 5, 2020, the prime minister performed the Bhoomi puja for the temple's construction.

The Supreme Court's decision on November 9, 2019, cleared the path for constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Within a 70-acre area near the Ram temple, temples dedicated to Valmiki, Kewat, Shabari, Jatayu, Sita, Vighneshwar (Ganesh), and Sheshavatar (Lakshman) would be built.

A rectangular, two-story 'Parikrama' road is also being built, enclosing an area of eight acres of land that includes the temple and its courtyard. A sandstone entryway will be built in its eastern section. White marble from Rajasthan's Makrana hills will be used inside the temple's sanctum sanctorum. 

Modi's October 23 visit to Ayodhya was his first since laying the foundation stone two years ago. The prime minister examined the construction progress after praying to Ram Lalla at the improvised shrine.

The temple's opening to worshipers in early 2024 is also considered politically significant, given the Lok Sabha elections are due later that year.

The BJP has long emphasised the Ayodhya issue, and the shrine's opening to pilgrims is expected to pique Hindus' interest.

(With inputs from PTI)

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• Ayodhya
• Champat Rai
• Ram Mandir