Entire political movements were shaped by the curated desire for a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya—to be realised in brick, mortar and sandstone. The idol of Lord Ram or Ram Lalla, as the deity is referred to in Ayodhya, spent over three decades in a tin shed near the disputed Babri Masjid demolition site. Four months after the Supreme Court cleared the way for the construction of the Ram temple at the site, and as Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust was working at full throttle, the unforeseen COVID-19 lockdown has brought the project to a grinding halt.
The Trust had designated April 30 as the auspicious day for Bhumi Pujan and the beginning of work. The construction of the “grand sky-high temple” was to be completed in three to three-and-a-half years—in time for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. With the pandemic wreaking havoc with the well-laid plans and the tight timelines, the construction is likely to be delayed indefinitely.
To put a timeline is difficult now, says chairman of the Ram Temple Construction Committee Nripendra Mishra....
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