Ram temple 'Bhoomi pujan' likely on April 30; PM Modi, RSS chief invited

Water from all the major rivers and soil from all Hindu pilgrim centres will be brought for the "Bhoomi Pujan" of the grand Ram temple that is likely to take place in Ayodhya on April 30.

A formal announcement of the date will be made after the meeting of the Shri Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust on April 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat will be invited to the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony.

"We had earlier planned mega celebration during the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, but the scale of the celebrations will now be decided keeping in mind the status of the corona scare at that time," said a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionary.

On March 25, the makeshift idol of Ram Lalla at the Ram Janambhoomi will be shifted to a fibre structure in the Manas Bhawan.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be present when the "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony takes place.

All members of the temple trust are also expected to be present at the ceremony which will take place on the first day of "Navratri".

The "prasad" that will be distributed after the Pran Pratishtha will comprise mainly fruits and dry fruits since a large number of devotees will be observing Navratri fast on that day.

The entire ceremony will be telecast live, sources said, so that people can witness the historic event from their homes.

L&T to oversee the construction of Ram temple

Ram temple in Ayodhya will be constructed by construction giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T).

Vishwa Hindu Parishad vice-president Champat Rai has said that L&T put up a proposal to construct the ram temple ten years ago, before the then VHP working president Ashok Singhal.

"After the Supreme Court verdict, L&T has reiterated its offer. The company has the infrastructure and technical expertise needed for such a major project," he said.

Rai further said that the priority right notw is to ensure the shifting of the Ram Lalla idol to Manas Bhawan. "The construction of the temple is likely to begin in April on a suitable date," he said.

The VHP leader said that the soil of the land for the temple would soon be sent for testing to ensure construction strength. The soil testing will be done by IIT Roorkee.

He said that finer carving of stones would continue even after temple construction has been completed.