New Idol of Ram Lalla to be Installed at 9-ft Height on January 14 of 2024 says Ayodhya Temple Trust

The temple trust secretary Champat Rai has said that the idol of the deity will be installed on January 14 of 2024, the day of Makar Sankranti.

The statement comes a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will be ready by January 1 next year.

Rai also noted that the construction at the sanctum sanctorum is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Calling it the ‘Baal roop’ (childhood form) of Lord Ram, Rai said however the exact appearance, expressions, and face of the idol have not been decided yet.

“Grand celebrations for the opening of Ram Mandir will start in December 2023 and will continue till Makar Sankranti, 2024,” TOI quoted Rai as saying.

According to a report by TOI, the idols will be installed in a way that the rays of the rising sun touch the forehead. The new idol is likely to be nine feet and the devotees will be able to have darshan from a distance of 35 feet.

“We have constituted a team of experts from CSIR-CBRI, centre of astronomy and astrophysics, for,” Rai said.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has invited top sculptors namely Padma Vibhushan awardee, Sudarshan Sahoo and Vasudeo Kamath from Odisha, KKV Maniya from Karnataka and Shastragya Deulkar from Pune to send the design of the idols to be put for selection.

“We will have a discussion with all the senior seers of the country over the making of the new idol of Ram Lalla. We have selected stones from Karnataka, Odisha, and Maharashtra for the construction of the idol. After the finalization of the idol, the trust will order the stones,” Rai further told TOI.

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