A devotee prays near the Lord Ram temple after its inauguration.
Credit: Reuters Photo
In a bid to make Ayodhya the spiritual tourism hub of India, there are plans to build 13 more temples in the city. Six of these will be inside the huge temple complex and seven will be constructed outside it.
While efforts are ongoing to complete the construction of the main Ram temple that was consecrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22, the other temples are also a work in progress, Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Treasurer Swami Gurudev Giriji told NDTV.
Of the four floors of the main Ram temple, only the first floor has materialised as of now.
"Work is in progress on the second floor after which the shikhar -- the central dome -- will have to be done ... .Then there is work on the five key temples of the Ram parivar," Gurudev Giriji told the publication.
Given that Lord Ram is considered Lord Vishnu’s incarnation, there will be dedicated temples of Lord Ganapati, Shiva, Surya or the Sun god and Goddess Jagdamba in four corners of the temple. Apart from this, there will also be a temple of Lord Hanuman, the biggest devotee of Ram.
While the statues of these Gods have already been installed, polishing and finishing touches are pending, the publication reported.
A temple will be dedicated to Goddess Annapurna near the spot that is considered to be Sita rasoi(kitchen).
Gurudev Giriji said that outside the temple complex there will be seven temples dedicated to "people who shared in the life of Lord Ram.”
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"These would be for Saints Valmiki, Vashist, Vishwamitra, Devi Shavari, and the huge bird Jatayu, who laid down his life for Ram," he added.
After the consecration of the new idol of Ram Lalla at the temple on Monday, five lakh people visited the Ram temple on Tuesday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to ensure proper crowd management for convenient 'darshan'. The state government statement said that several times the crowd seemed to be out of control but police personnel and officials immediately took control of the situation and made people stand in queues for the 'darshan'.