The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, set up by the government to construct the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, will meet in the temple town on Saturday to decide the date for starting the temple construction work.
The construction of a Ram temple, which was set to begin a few months ago, had to be postponed on account of the coronavirus-induced lockdown in March.
Sources said that the new date for beginning the temple construction is likely to be in the first week of August and Prime Minister Narendra Modi may grace the occasion.
“There are many things on the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. While the minutes of the previous meeting would be discussed, the arrival of Prime Minister for Bhoomi Poojan would also be discussed, Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, told The Indian Express.
Also on the agenda will be the launch of a nationwide campaign for the Ram Temple construction, Rai added.
According to Rai, the chairman of the construction committee, Nripendra Mishra, and other members of the Trust have already reached Ayodhya for the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 3 pm.
Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is also preparing to launch its countrywide reach-out programme from the first week of August to mark its foundation day celebrations. This year, the programme is likely to include a campaign for the Ram Temple.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad spokesperson Vinod Bansal said, “On the issue of Ram Temple, we would act according to the expectations of the Trust. We organise week-long public reach-out programmes every year during Janmasthami… This year, we have left to our local units to decide the way they want to mark the occasion either through organising havans or through other events, but they have been told to maintainsocial distancing at the events.”
