Ram temple to likely open in January 2024, infra works expedited in Ayodhya

The Uttar Pradesh government has expedited infrastructure works in Ayodhya, including expansion of its airport and railway station, as the city prepares for the opening of the Ram temple in January next year, according to a statement.

Work is also in progress on the Ram Path, a 13-km road from Sahadatganj to Naya Ghat, it said.

The outline for the construction of the Ramjanaki Path and the Bhakti Path is also ready, the statement issued in Lucknow said. The airport and the railway station are also being expanded, it added.

These road corridors are important as these will facilitate the movement of devotees to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and the Hanuman Garhi temple, the statement said.

The width of the Ram Janmabhoomi Path will be 30 metres and the width of the Bhakti Path will be 14 metres, it said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has invited people to come for the Ram temple's opening, it said and added that he is reviewing the progress of different works regularly.

In Uttarakhand's Haridwar, Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Nyas general secretary Champat Rai said no date has been fixed yet for the inauguration of the Ram temple but its construction is in full swing and it is likely to be inaugurated by January next year with the permission of seers.

"The temple Trust has not yet discussed the dates. However, construction of the temple is going on fast and its inauguration can be done any time from December 31 to January 15," Rai said.

Ram Lalla may be installed in the temple by December and it may be inaugurated by January 2024, he said.

The temple is 380-feet-long from east to west, 250-feet-wide from south to north and 161 feet high. Its platform, made of pure granite, is 16-feet-high and there are 392 pillars or columns on its three floors, said Rai, who is in Haridwar to attend a meeting of the VHP's Margadarshak Mandal on Thursday.

Iron and concrete have not been used anywhere in its construction, he said.

The statement said supporting the Uttar Pradesg government's initiative to develop Ayodhya, shopkeepers, without any resistance, have given the land of their shops for the construction of the "grand" temple and its other facilities.

There has been no complaint of any irregularity in disbursement of compensation under this project, it said.

Those evicted have been allotted shops in newly developed complexes, while many shopkeepers were rehabilitated to their old places with the cooperation of owners, the statement said.