The testing of the foundation pillars for the Ram temple continued at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on Saturday since it could not be completed before the start of Navratri, when the construction of the temple was supposed to begin.

“Testing work of the foundation pillars of Ram temple is still continuing. It is expected to be over by the end of this month,” said Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the successor- designate to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

“Navratri is considered auspicious and saints wanted to start construction work of the Ram temple on this occasion,” Das added.

The trust had planned to start the construction work from Navratri, which began on Saturday. About 12 foundation pillars have already been laid at Ram Janmabhoomi. Larsen and Toubro, the company carrying out construction of the Ram temple, is conducting this testing under the guidance of IIT-Madras experts.

On September 11, the trust had started the piling work for testing the foundation pillars.

Around 1,200 pillars will be laid 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 in diameter, was laid 100 feet below the ground. These pillars are being subjected to various tests to check their strength and durability.

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The testing was expected to be completed by October 15 but this did not happen.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presided over the ‘bhoomi pujan’ ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. On November 9, the Supreme Court had paved the way for construction of the Ram temple.