Devotees will be allowed to enter the Ram Temple from December 2023 while the construction of the entire temple complex will be completed by 2025, sources in the Ram Temple Trust said.
"The construction work of the temple is progressing according to the plan and it is estimated that by end of 2023, devotees will be able to get the opportunity of Lord Ram's darshan," a source told news agency PTI.
“We are hoping to complete the main garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum) and the first floor of the temple by December 2023. This will help devotees visit and offer prayers to Ram Lalla,” Indian Express quoted a source as saying.
The move to open the temple to devotees by the end of next year is politically significant as the next Lok Sabha elections are due in the first half of 2024. The opening of the temple ahead of the general elections will be shot in the arm for the ruling BJP at the Centre.
The length of the temple is 360 feet, width 235 feet and height of each floor will be 20 feet. There will be 160 columns on the temple's ground floor, 132 columns on the first floor and 74 columns on the second floor. The top of the sanctum sanctorum will be 161 feet from the ground floor and will be constructed with Rajasthan stone and marble. The other structures include pilgrim facilitation centre, museum, archives, research centre, auditorium, 'gau shala', 'yagya shala', administrative building and 'sant niwas' among others.
The temple complex will occupy 100 acres of land, including the 66 acres granted by the Supreme Court. The final cost of the temple is expected to be around Rs 900 crore to Rs 1,000 crore.
The temple design was finalised considering the changes that have taken place in the last three decades and the aspirations of devotees, say sources.
Following a Supreme Court verdict paving the way for the temple's construct at the site, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formation of the Shri Ram Janm Bhumi Teerth Kshetra Trust on February 5, 2020 in Lok Sabha for the temple's construction and management.
—With PTI inputs
