The construction of the grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh will begin from Navratri, October 17, with the laying of the foundation pillars of the mandir.

“Construction work of Ram mandir will start with the setting of foundation pillars of the temple from this Navratri. By then, the ongoing testing work of pillars will be over,” said mahant Kamal Nayas Das, successor-designate to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’s chairman mahant Nritya Gopal Das.

“Navratri is considered auspicious and the seers do not wish to miss the opportunity to start the construction of Ram mandir on this occasion,” Das added.

The testing of the twelve foundation pillars of the Ram mandir is on and will be over by mid-October. Larsen and Toubro, the company carrying out the construction work for the temple, is conducting the testing. Later, experts from IIT-Chennai will arrive in Ayodhya to carry out the last phase of testing. They are expected in Ayodhya soon.

The temple trust had started the piling work for testing the foundation pillars for the temple on September 11. Around 1,200 pillars will be erected about 100 feet below the surface to prepare the temple’s foundation. In technical terms, this process is called piling.

To begin with, one pillar, a metre-wide in diameter, was erected 100-feet below the ground. This pillar has been subjected to various tests for around a month to check its strength and durability. From around October 15, after all the testing work is over, the remaining pillars will be laid.

However, it is not clear whether the Navratri Mela will be conducted. The Ayodhya administration had cancelled the Navratri Mela in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Hindu calendar, Navratri falls twice in a year – in April and in October known as Chaitra and Shardiya Navratri respectively.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the ‘bhumi poojan’ ceremony of Ram mandir in Ayodhya on August 5 this year.