Sacred soil, river water from Karnataka sent for Ram temple construction

The Karnataka unit of Vishwa Hindu

Parishad (VHP) on Sunday said water from various rivers and soil from religious places in Karnataka have been sent for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

The groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the temple would take place on August 5 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to the event.

"We have sent the water and soil from all the rivers and religious places in the state. It will be used for sanctifying the temple site," VHP Prachar Pramukh Basavaraj told PTI.

According to him, Suttur Math seer Shivaratri Deshikendra sent water from Cauvery and Kapila. Dharmasthala Manjunatha Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade sent water from Netravati river while Sringeri Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Tirtha collected water from Tunga, Bhadravati and Sharavati.

Similarly various seers sent water from all the important rivers such as Krishna, Bheema, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha.

Soil has been sent from temples of Chamundeshwari in Mysuru, Sri Krishna in Udupi, Manjunatheshwara in Dharmasthala Rambhapuri in Balehonnur in Chikkamagaluru district, Siddaganga Math in Tumakuru and Datta Peetha, Basavaraj said.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, formed by the Centre following the Supreme Court's ruling in November last in favour of building the temple at the site, has fixed Bhoomi Poojan on August 5.