News Analysis India

Tag: Ayodhya Ram Temple

  • Ayodhya Deepotsav 2021: 500 drones to draw Ramayana scenes, 7.5 lakh diyas to illuminate city 

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: For the first time, 500 drones will draw the Ramayan era scenes on Ayodhya’s skyline during the Deepotsav celebrations on Diwali eve in the temple town of Ayodhya in November.

    The Deepotsav lightening 7.5 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) on the Diwali eve on November 3 will be the centerpiece of the six-day celebrations starting on November 1 in Ayodhya.

    Apart from the drones, the other attractions will be a 3-D holographic show, 3-D projection mapping, and laser show at the majestic Ram Ki Paidi on the banks of the Saryu River.

    Senior state government officials including principal secretary, Tourism, Mukesh Meshram, was in Ayodhya on Thursday to review preparations for Deepotsav.

    The Ayodhya administration has set a target of lighting a minimum of 7.5 lakh diyas (earthen lamps) across Ayodhya registering another Gunniess record, this year. Most of them will be lit at Ram Ki Paidi, the venue of the main event.

    ALSO READ | Idol in Ayodhya Ram temple to be illuminated by sun rays like Odisha’s Konark shrine

    However, the Ayodhya administration is prepared to light around nine lakh diyas taking a margin of error into account. “So that under any circumstances, 7.5 diyas are illuminated,” said an official of the Ayodhya administration. This will be the third Guinness record in a row if the set target is achieved.

    A team from the Guinness Book of World Records will be in Ayodhya to judge the event. Around 12,000 volunteers, mostly students of Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University, Ayodhya, have been engaged in making the lighting of the diyas successful.

    In 2020, the Ayodhya had created a new world record by lighting 6,06,569 diyas at Ram Ki Paidi ghat and other ghats of the Saryu. In 2019, the Ayodhya administration had lit 4,10,000 diyas, a record at the time.

    The Yogi Adityanath government has initiated the celebration called Deepotsav in Ayodhya every year on the eve of Diwali since 2017. This Deepotsav will be the last one before the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due early next year.

  • Idol in Ayodhya Ram temple to be illuminated by sun rays like Odisha’s Konark shrine

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: As the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is picking up pace, a proposal from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been under consideration to build the sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sun rays fall on the idol of Ram Lalla and illuminate its sanctum sanctorum on every Ram Navami.

    Confirming this after a three-day meeting of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee in Ayodhya concluded on Wednesday, Shri Ramjanmabahoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai said that the PM had taken up the issue with experts and astronomers over the designing of sanctum sanctorum. 

    “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken up the issue of the sun rays illuminating Lord Ram’s idol every Ram Navami for a few minutes at noon with space scientists,” Rai said, adding that scientists were making efforts and were hopeful of a positive outcome.

    In all probability, the design of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple will be based on Konark’s 13th century sun temple in Odisha. According to a trust member, a serious consultation with a team of scientists, astronomers, and technologists was on in this regard. He claimed that the Konark sun temple was an example where the sun rays reach inside the temple. In such a situation, all the technical aspects and state-of-the-art technology were under consideration of the scientists to make the sun rays reach inside the sanctum sanctorum and all on the face of Lord Ram on Ramnavami.

    ALSO READ | Ram temple foundation complete, sanctum sanctorum to open by December 2023 

    The trustee said a panel comprising experts from the National Institute of Building Construction, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, IIT Mumbai, and IIT Roorkee, was set up to confabulate and decide on technical aspects related to the construction of the temple.

    However, another senior official of the trust said, the construction work of the Ram temple was already on the fast track so as to make it available for the devotees by December 2023 for darshan. He added that while the first phase of foundation filling was complete, the second phase was expected to finish by mid-November.

    “At present casting of the raft above the temple’s foundation is going on,” said Champat Rai.

    “A maximum temperature of 22-23 degrees centigrade is required at the time of casting. For this, work (casting) is being done during the night. Ice in large quantity is also being used to maintain the temperature,” said Rai.

    According to the Trust source, a 1.5-metre thick raft is being placed above the foundation.

    From November 15, the work of construction of the plinth (the base part of the pillar) will also start. The construction of pillars and overhead structure on the plinth is expected to start from April 2022, said the sources close to the construction committee of the temple. The sources claimed that stones from Mirzapur and Karnataka will be used for laying the plinth of the Ram temple.

    “Stones from Mirzapur and Karnataka have been brought to Ayodhya. These will be used for laying the plinth of the temple,” Anil Mishra, member of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said.

    The Yogi Adityanath government had prepared a Vision Document for the overall development of Ayodhya along with the construction work of the Ram temple. The government hired an international consultant, LEA Associates South Asia Private Limited, to prepare this vision document.

  • Those who never looked towards Ayodhya earlier are owning Lord Ram now: CM Yogi

    Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: While presenting the work and worth report of his government during the last four years in Assembly on Thursday, UP CM Yogi Adityanath launched a scathing attack on opposition saying all those who found Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura as symbols of communalism were now in the race of owning Lord Ram and Lord Krishna.

    “Those who used to take umbrage in looking towards Ayodhya earlier and chanting and repeating Ram-Ram now,” said Yogi Adityanath while speaking during a discussion over Rs 7301.5 crore supplementary budget presented by UP government in Assembly on Wednesday.

    Claiming that the policies of his government had changed the perception of the state and in terms of tourist inflow UP was at the top position, CM Yogi said that special stress was laid on the development of Ayodhya, Kashi, and Mathura to make them prominent on the world tourist map.

    “This could have done in previous regimes also but then the political masters heading the previous governments never looked at Ayodhya. Now they are in the race to own Lord Ram and Lord Krishna,” he added.

    The CM said that before 2013, people (those in power) used to say that they would install the idols of Kansa in Brij region. “We have changed that mentality. They are now swearing their devotion to the deities,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Ayodhya Ram temple to open for devotees by December 2023

    CM Yogi came down heavily on the supporters of the Taliban. In an indirect attack on Samajwadi Party after its MP Shafiqur Rehman Barq equated Taliban with Indian freedom fighters, the CM said such faces who were supporting the Taliban without even giving a single thought to the plight of women and children of Afghanistan should be exposed. “Some persons are shamelessly backing Taliban and they should be exposed,” he said.

    CM Yogi also made a big announcement that the land seized by his government by demolishing the mafia syndicates in the state would be used to construct dwellings for the deprived and downtrodden of the society.

    “We have confiscated and demolished properties worth over Rs 1500 crore belonging to the mafia who had acquired it through illegal means. We are in the process of drawing a roadmap for constructing a residential facility for the homeless on these properties. This is our social justice,” said CM Yogi warning those who would back the mafia saying they would find a bulldozer behind them.

    The CM claimed that the state had recovered a GST of Rs 21 lakh crore. UP has emerged as the number two economy and the most potential destination for investment in the country.

    “The state government tried its best to save life and livelihood during the second wave of the pandemic but the opposition was not happy with it. Today the state has the capability of conducting 4 lakh corona tests daily. Over 7 crore tests have already been conducted in UP so far,” said the CM adding that his government did not let even a single starvation death happen during the pandemic owing to its free food grain distribution scheme.

  • Ayodhya Ram temple to open for devotees by December 2023

    By Express News Service

    LUCKNOW: The wait of devotees for the opening of the sanctum sanctorum of Ram temple in Ayodhya may end by December 2023. The opening of the sanctum sanctorum will take place with the shifting of the idols of Ram Lalla and brothers to their final abode. 

    However, the construction of the temple complex is likely to be completed by the end of 2025, said the highly-placed sources here on Wednesday.

    At present, the idols are resting in a bulletproof makeshift temple of optic fibre on the Ram Janmabhoomi premises. They were shifted to the new arrangement from their abode under a tent in March last year.

    As per the temple trust, the ongoing work on the foundation of the temple is likely to be completed by October, this year. After that, the second phase of the work may commence in November around Diwali.

    Though this news has been reiterated by the sources on the eve of the bhoomi pujan anniversary of the temple which was performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had also laid a 40 kg silver brick foundation stone to formally start the construction of a temple in Ayodhya at a grand ceremony on August 5, 2020.

    ALSO READ | PM says Ayodhya should manifest finest of our traditions, developmental transformations

    However, the temple trust general secretary Champat Rai had made a similar announcement around mid–July after the 15-member trust held a two-day-long meeting with engineers and architects to decide on a date for the mega project to see the end of the tunnel. The meeting was chaired by trust chief Nripendra Misra in Ayodhya.

    “It is expected that the work on the foundation of the proposed temple will finish by October. All engineers and labourers involved in this work are safe & healthy,” the Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had said in a tweet last month.

    Temple trust general secretary Champat Rai had added that the work was going on in two shifts round-the-clock in order to ensure that the temple was constructed at the earliest and the pandemic had not impacted the work.

    Construction companies Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Balaji Construction and Tata Consultants Engineers in the role of consultant are working on the project, while Chandrakant Sompura is the architect.

    In the construction of the temple, sandstone from UP’s Mirzapur and Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, marble from Rajasthan’s Makrana, and pink stone from Rajasthan’s Bansi Paharpur is being used. The temple is being built by the trust through the money collected by donations.

    Around nine lakh volunteers visited 11 crore people across 4 lakh villages in the country to collect the money for the temple construction. After a 44-day funds collection drive, around Rs 2100 crore was collected towards the temple construction.

  • Removed from RSS-run school for refusing to donate for Ram temple, alleges teacher

    By PTI
    BALLIA (UP): A teacher here has alleged that he was removed from an RSS-run school after he refused to donate Rs 1,000 for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, a charge denied by the institution.

    Yashwant Pratap Singh, who worked as an “acharya” (teacher) at Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Jagdishpur localilty, also claimed that the school has withheld his eight months’ salary.

    Singh said he was given a receipt book for the collection of funds for the temple.

    He deposited around Rs 80,000 collected for it, he said.

    Singh claimed that he was pressured to donate Rs 1,000 for the temple when the district “pracharak” of the Rasthriya Swyamsewak Sangh (RSS), Satyendra, came to the school.

    When he refused, the school authorities “misbehaved” and removed him from the school, Singh alleged, adding that he has given a written complaint in this regard at the district magistrate’s office.

    Singh said he will approach a court if justice is not done to him.

    Meanwhile, school principal Dhirendra said all employees were given receipt books for the collection of funds as per their capacity.

    “Singh also took three receipt books willingly but later did not deposit them. He himself resigned,” he said, denying the allegations.

  • Ayodhya Ram temple donations cross Rs 1,500 crore: Trust

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The Ayodhya Ram temple trust has received more than Rs 1,500 crore as donations in the first 27 days. 

    The drive to collect Samarpan Nidhi was launched on January 15 and so far, Rs 1,511 crore has been collected, said Swami Govind Dev Giri, treasurer of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

    To collect the funds, the VHP and RSS had set up over 150 teams of volunteers. They have been collecting funds through the receipt coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100, and Rs 1,000 printed by the temple trust.

    As per Swami Govind Dev Giri, people from all communities and age generously donated to the fundraising campaign. “Children have donated from their piggy banks and people such as labourers, beggars, vendors, rickshaw pullers have made the donations to the best of their capability. From east to west and north to south, people of all castes, creed, and religion have made donations,” said Swami Govind Dev Giri.

    He added that the Samarpan Nidhi was being deposited in the temple trust accounts at State Bank Of India, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National Bank, by over 37,000 volunteers deputed as depositors. “The activists are bringing the donations collected from remote villages and depositing the same in the trust’s bank accounts. The trust had got over 13 crore coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 printed before commencing the drive. But the coupons have exhausted in many states,” said Swami Govind Dev Giri.

    New coupons are being printed. New coupons were also printed during the drive at a few cities including Mumbai and Hyderabad. “People from north-eastern states including Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim have also participated in the drive and have come forward to donate large sums,” said Dev Giri.

    The fundraising drive would end on February 27. After that, people can deposit the donation money in trust-authorized accounts in three nationalized banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and Punjab National.

    Meanwhile, trust general secretary Champat Rai said so far the foundation for the temple had been dug five-meter deep. The 16 ft deep debris was removed from the level of sanctum sanctorum where PM Narendra Modi had performed Bhoomi Pujan on August 5, 2020, he added. 

  • Was tricked into donating for Ram Temple, alleges Congress MLA

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: After a photo of Congress MLA from Perumbavoor in Kerala, Eldhose Kunnappilly, has gone viral on social media with claims that he has donated money to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for the construction of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya, the MLA on Wednesday shared a video on social media stating that he was ‘tricked’ into donating for the Ram Mandir by the RSS.

    The viral photo shows the MLA holding a card with the image of a building on it along with three men, which is being widely shared on social media.

    However, Kunnappily claimed that ‘out of his innocence’ he donated Rs 1,000 for the temple construction.

    He alleged that some people had contacted him asking for donations for the construction of the temple but ‘did not reveal’ that they were associated with the RSS or whether the donation was for the Ram Mandir.

    Hitting out at RSS, the Perumbavoor MLA said, “I am a secular person and it is disheartening that they fooled me. You (RSS) should engage in politics ethically.”

    “I express my grief over this RSS propaganda if that has in any way hurt religious sentiments of some communities,” he said in the video posted.

    Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust is conducting a mass contact and contribution campaign for the construction of the grand temple in Ayodhya, which began on January 15 and will go on till February 27.

    After the Supreme Court gave the verdict for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed Bhoomi Pujan for the temple on August 5, 2020, at the temple site in Ayodhya.  

  • Canadian infra consultant, two Indian firms to draw blueprint for Greater Ayodhya

    Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: Two days after CM Yogi Adityanath visited Ayodhya and set a deadline on the ongoing infrastructural projects, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) finalized three nodal firms, including a Candian company, to draw the blueprint for giving a makeover to the temple town as a world-class city.

    According to ADA vice-chairman Vishal Singh, Canada-based multi-national firm LEA Associates South Asia Private Ltd and two Indian firms — Larsen & Toubro and Kukreja Architects —  were entrusted with drawing a vision document, chart out the implementation strategy and integrated infrastructure plan for Ayodhya in coordination with each other.

    While the Canadian infrastructure firm was the brain behind the Tirupati Master Plan and Smart City, Kukreja Architects are credited with chalking out the blueprint for transit-oriented development of an unorganized urban sprawl in the Malaysian city of Banda Aceh with its successful spatial model.

    ALSO READ | Christian community donates over Rs 1 crore for Ram temple construction: Karnataka Deputy CM office

    On December 26 last year, the state government had put up proposals seeking requests from global and Indian consultants for drawing the blueprint of the Greater Ayodhya project. The firms were also sought to develop a vision document, implementation strategy, and integrated infrastructure development plan for the religious city which is witnessing the construction of the grand Ram temple complex over around 67 acres of land.

    Ayodhya Development Authority had zeroed in on eight firms including four Indian companies — Tata Consulting Engineers, Larsen & Toubro, Kukreja Architects, REPL — and four international consultants — LEA Associates South Asia, IPE Global, Meinhardt Group International Holdings, and Egis Group. The proposals were sent to the bidding evaluation committee under the chairmanship of state principal secretary, housing, Deepak Kumar, who selected three infrastructure consultants — LEA Associates South Asia, Larsen & Toubro, and Kukreja Architects on basis of quality and cost outlay.

    The three firms are entrusted with chalking out a roadmap touching all the aspects of making Ayodhya a world-class city. They would take care of town planning, transport, traffic, infrastructure, finance, economy, heritage, tourism, urban design, and renewable resources, said, vice chairman of AyodhyaDevelopment Authority Vishal Singh.

  • Republic Day parade: UP tableau displays Ayodhya’s Ram Temple

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh’s tableau displayed the state’s cultural city of Ayodhya and the Ram temple, which is under construction.

    In the first part of the tableau, Maharishi Valmiki has been shown composing the Ramayana. In the middle part of the tableau, Shri Ram Mandir, the epitome of Ayodhya’s cultural identity associated with mass sentiments and devotion, was featured.

    The mural showed embracing of Nishadraj and eating of Shabri’s berry by Lord Ram, salvation of Ahilya, Kewat Samvad, Lord Hanuman bringing Sanjivani Buti, Jatayu-Ram Samvad, Ashok Vatika and other scenes from Ramyana.

    The forepart of the middle tableau showed Deepotsava of Ayodhya, in which millions of earthen lamps are lit.

    On August 5, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhoomi pujan for the construction of Ram Temple.

  • In-principle nod to Ram Temple foundation’s design

    By Express News Service
    LUCKNOW: The second-day of deliberations on Ram Temple in Ayodhya revolved around the nitty-gritty of design, while the construction committee gave in-principle approval to the foundation’s design on Friday.

    Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra general secretary Champat Rai, who also participated in the meeting, claimed that the finer points of the temple design came up for discussion among the experts and the persons concerned in the meeting. 

    Sources said that the design for the foundation will be readied in a Mumbai based lab and it would reach Ayodhya in printed form in February. H owever, the work on foundation has already taken off and the digging is on to remove the debris. As per the foundation plan, initially, digging will be done till 50 feet to remove debris.

    The formal digging commenced in the presence of Nripendra Mishra after paying obeisance to deity Vishwakarma, who is believed to be the builder of the world.Th e design of the foundation was finalised after a presentation by the engineers of Tata Consultancy and L&T. Sources privy to the deliberations claimed that the work on foundation would start in February, and by then the task of removal of debris would be over.  

    During the two day deliberations, security aspects of the Ram Janmabhoomi premises were also discussed at length. On Thursday, the meeting hovered around finer aspects of the temple’s foundation’s design and other works.