We're hopeful construction of Ayodhya Ram temple will be complete by December: Nripendra Mishra
Ayodhya (UP) (PTI): Chairman of Ram Temple Construction Committee Nripendra Mishra said on Monday that the first floor of the Ram temple at Ayodhya will be completed by July this year, and expressed the hope that the construction of the temple will be completed by December.
He said marble from Rajasthan will be used in making the 'Ram Darbar' and the seven temples. Four sculptors have been shortlisted for this work, he added.
Speaking to reporters in Ayodhya, Mishra said, "The first floor of the temple, which is under construction, will be completed by the end of July. After July, the construction of the second floor will only remain. So, we are hopeful that by December, the construction of the temple will be complete," Mishra said.
On the recent controversy in a section of the media about 'teeka' not being applied on the foreheads of the devotees visiting the Ram temple, Mishra said, it was not applied to the devotees who used to come earlier. They used to have a 'darshan' of the Lord and then go out.
"Teeka was applied to some special people who used to come from another 'dwar' (gate). So, it is completely misleading to say that the Lord's 'teeka' and 'charnamrit' are not being given.
"No new embargo has been put. Everybody is being given equal treatment, be it an ordinary devotee or a special (person)," Mishra said.
The idol of Ram Lalla was consecrated at the Ayodhya temple on January 22, a landmark event led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also gave a clarion call to go beyond the grand temple's construction to build the foundation of a "strong, capable and divine" India of the next 1,000 years.
As the inauguration of the temple marked the culmination of a decades-long campaign, mostly under the Hindutva banner, to reclaim a disputed religious site in Ayodhya, Modi said it was the advent of a new era.
Lakhs of people watched the 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) ceremony on television at their homes and in neighbourhood temples, savouring the historic moment just months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and 34 years after BJP veteran L K Advani's iconic 'Mandir Wahin Banayenge ' speech during his rath yatra that shaped Ram mandir politics.
Mishra said more than 1.75 crore devotees have visited the temple from January 22 till June 23.
On average, one lakh devotees visit the temple daily. By the end of this month, we expect that 2 crore devotees would have visited the temple, he said.
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Morning strikes by Pak military: JCO, BSF trooper among 7 killed
projectile debris found at many border areas
Jammu/Pathankot, May 10 (PTI): Seven persons, including a JCO and a BSF trooper, were killed and several others injured in mortar shelling and drone strikes by Pakistani military early Saturday in India's border districts where debris of unidentified projectiles were also found and a crater was formed in an agricultural field.
However, as the day was drawing to a close, India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect after four days of cross-border strikes that triggered fears of a wider conflict.
After witnessing intense cross-border shelling over the past three days, border residents heaved a sigh of relief.
After a night of bristling tension, India woke up Saturday to reports of sounds of explosions, drone attacks and mortar shelling coming in from Jammu and Kashmir and several places in Punjab.
BSF sub-inspector Mohammed Imteyaz was killed and seven others were injured in Pakistani firing along the International Border in Jammu's R S Pura sector.
Eight BSF personnel were injured in Pakistani shelling along the international border (IB) in Jammu's R S Pura sector. They are being treated at a military medical facility.
In Jammu's Rajouri, Additional District Development Commissioner Raj Kumar Thapa and his two staff members were seriously injured when an artillery shell hit his official residence in the town, officials said.
They were shifted to the nearby Government Medical College where Thapa succumbed to injuries.
Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, a resident of Himachal Pradesh, laid down his life when a Pakistani artillery shell exploded near his post in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch this morning.
Two-year-old Aisha Noor and Mohd Shohib (35) were killed and three others injured in Pakistani shelling near an industrial area in Rajouri town, the officials said.
A 55-year-old woman named Rashida Bi also lost her life when a mortar shell hit her house at Kanghra-Galhutta village in Mendhar sector of Poonch district.
In another incident, Ashok Kumar alias Shoki, a resident of Bidipur Jatta village, was killed in cross-border firing in the R S Pura, the officials said.
Three more persons were also injured in intense shelling in Poonch and were evacuated to a hospital, they said, adding a local journalist was injured in the Nowshera sector of Rajouri.
Zakir Hussain (45) was killed and two others, including a girl, were injured in Pakistani shelling in Kheri Keran village of Bantalab in the outskirts of Jammu, the officials said.
Four persons were injured when artillery shells and suspected drones hit some residential areas in Jammu, including Rehari and Roop Nagar in Jammu city.
These strikes in the morning followed after Pakistan launched a wave of drone attacks targeting 26 locations in India -- from Jammu and Kashmir to Gujarat -- for the second night on Friday.
The locations included Baramulla, Srinagar, Avantipora, Nagrota and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, Ferozpur, Pathankot and Fazilka in Punjab, Lalgarh Jatta, Jaisalmer and Barmer in Rajasthan, and Bhuj, Kuarbet and Lakhi Nala in Gujarat.
In Punjab, debris of unidentified projectiles was found in Beas in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Dubli village in Tarn Taran districts.
In Gurdaspur's village Rajubela Chhichhran, residents said a crater -- around 35 feet wide and 15 feet deep -- was formed following a loud blast in the early hours of Saturday.
A police official said no one was hurt in the incident. However, there was damage to electrical wires in the incident.
After learning about the crater in the field, many curious villagers, including youngsters, reached the site and started clicking pictures on their mobile phones.
In Phagwara, an unidentified object fell in a field between Khalyan and Sahni villages in Phagwara district early Saturday, officials said.
Locals said an explosion-like sound was heard around 2.40 am from the fields at Khalyan village towards Sahni.
The impact of the unidentified object created a crater about 7-8 feet deep and 12-14 feet wide in the field, the officials said.
Some parts of the unidentified object were found lying scattered in the field.
Authorities have asked people not to touch any part of any unidentified projectile lying on ground and to inform local police about it.
An unidentified projectile also landed in a residential area at Kanganiwal village in Jalandhar district early morning.
The locals said a migrant labourer was injured in the incident, while a few houses in the area also sustained damages.
Pathankot went into alert mode after explosion-like sounds were heard in the border district early morning, with the local authorities ordering closure of markets in the region as a precautionary measure.
After a night of bristling tension, people woke up to explosion-like sounds in Pathankot and Jalandhar districts, while air sirens rang out in Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Ferozepur amid a sharp upturn in the military conflict between India and Pakistan.
Punjab shares a 532-km border with Pakistan.
In Haryana's Sirsa too, some locals claimed they heard blast-like sounds after midnight.
In Rajasthan, markets in Barmer and Jaisalmer remained closed during the day as a precautionary measure.
Multiple drone attacks were attempted by Pakistan on the night of Friday in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts. However, the drones were neutralized mid-air by the Indian defence forces.
Debris of suspected drones were found at different locations in Barmer and Jaisalmer district Saturday morning.
Tensions between India and Pakistan soared significantly after the Indian armed forces on Wednesday conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that had cross-border linkages.
India shares a total of 3,323 km of border with Pakistan, divided into three parts: the International Border (IB), approximately 2,400 km from Gujarat to the northern banks of the Chenab river in Akhnoor, Jammu; the 740-km-long Line of Control (LoC), running from parts of Jammu to parts of Leh; and the Actual Ground Position Line, 110 km long, dividing the Siachen region from NJ 9842 to Indira Col in the north.
