Uddhav Thackeray, Advani, Nitish likely to be in Ram temple bhoomi pujan guest list

New Delhi: The list of invitees to the bhoomi pujan (groundbreaking) ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya on August 5 is likely to include veterans of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement such as LK Advani, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Rithambara, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and chief ministers Uddhav Thackeray and Nitish Kumar.

While the about two-hour-long ceremony will be limited to 100-150 guests including Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the district administration will set up video screens all over Ayodhya for locals to see it live, said members of the Ram Temple Trust.

A special brick prepared in silver and weighing 40 kg could be laid by the PM at the spot about three feet deep, at an auspicious time of 12:15 pm identified by the seers during the ‘abhijeet muhurat’, to mark the start of the construction of the temple. A copper urn may also be placed at the site and water from the Sangam in Prayagraj and holy rivers could be brought for the ceremony. Priests from Varanasi and other centres will come to Ayodhya for conducting the ceremony.

The ceremony could also see a number of projects worth several crores for ‘Ayodhya Dham’ being unveiled, a senior UP government official told ET. These could include the proposed 251-metre tall statue of Lord Ram on the banks of river Saryu and a network of four-lane highways to link Ayodhya and an elevated road project for the town.

Chief minister Adityanath has directed that multi-level parking facilities be constructed in Ayodhya, a bigger bus stand be built and work on the Sri Ram International Airport in Ayodhya be fast-tracked. Another important project for Ayodhya will be complete underground cabling in the town and launch of electric vehicles in the town for pilgrims.