Ayodhya Ram Mandir Budget: The grand ‘pran prathistha’ (consecration) ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is all set to take place on January 22 (Monday), which would see the at least 7,000 people in attendance. The ceremony will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the Ram Mandir is being made at an estimated cost of Rs 1,800 crore.
The construction and design of the Ram Mandir is being handled by Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consulting Engineers, with the technical assistance from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
In February 2020, the BJP-led Centre had announced the creation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which was tasked to look into the construction and managing the Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. Since the time the Trust has been established, a total of over Rs 3,500 crore in donations have been received, with a significant portion of donations, made between February 2020 and February 2021.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust’s secretary Champat Rai had earlier said that between February 5, 2020 and March 31, 2023, Rs 900 crore has been spent to make the temple. He said that more than Rs 3,000 crore still remains in the bank accounts of the trust.
Ram Mandir ‘Pran Prathistha’ ceremony
The consecration ceremony which will take place on January 22 is likely to be attended by several eminent dignitaries. Invitations have been sent to Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy and his wife and author Sudha Murty, industrialists Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, S N Subrahmanyan of the L&T Group, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu and former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad.
Others who have also been invited include Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and several Opposition leaders. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary, who have also been invited have declined the invitation.
Along with them, invitations have also been sent to film personalities including Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn, and others.
Notably, the entire temple has not been constructed yet. “The first and second floors of the temple will be ready by December 2024, even as the entire carving work will be complete by the end of 2025,” Misra had told The Indian Express.