- By Talib Khan
- Wed, 05 Aug 2020 10:03 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The foundation stone of the much-awaited Ram Mandir in the holy city of Ayodhya will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (today) during a grand Bhoomi Pujan ceremony.
Ahead of the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of the Ram Temple, the holy city of Ayodhya, where, according to Hindu beliefs and scriptures, Lord Ram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was born, is all decked up with lights and diyas brightening up the entire city giving Diwali-celebration feels.
As the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony will pave way for the construction of the grand temple dedicated to Lord Ram on his ‘janmsthan’ (birth place), here’s how the grand shrine will look and what will be its design:
The grand ‘Ram Temple’ to be constructed in Ayodhya will be 161 feet tall, which is 20 feet taller than the original design prepared in 1988 which mentioned the height of the temple as 141 feet.
Throwing light on the new design, temple’s main architect Nikhil Sompura said that "the earlier design was prepared in 1988. Over 30 years have passed... the footfall is likely to increase. People are also very enthusiastic about visiting the temple. So we thought its size should be increased. As per the revised design, the height of the temple has been increased from 141-feet to 161-feet."
Apart from the height, two new mandaps have also been added to the new design of the grand temple and all pillars, stones that were carved based on the earlier design will still be used.
"All pillars and the stones that were carved based on the earlier design will still be used. Only two mandaps have been added," Sompura said.
The temple, which will be built in the Nagara style of architecture, will comprise three stories with pillars and domes. It will be double the size of the previous planned design. The number of pillars has also been increased from 212 to 360.
Four more temples, smaller in size, will also surround the main structure of Ram Mandir at the Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya. 2 lakh brick with Shri Ram inscribed to form the foundation of the Temple. Stones from Banshi mountains in Rajasthan will be used for the construction.
Meanwhile, Nikhil Sompura also said that the complete construction of the grand Ram Temple will approximately take 3.5 years from the day it will be started and the estimated cost to make the temple will be Rs 300 crore.
“Once the 'bhoomi pujan' (groundbreaking ceremony) is done in the presence of the Prime Minister, the construction work will start. The team of L&T, along with machinery and materials, have reached the spot and the work on foundation will start right away. It will take 3 to 3.5 years for the completion of the work," Sompura said.
