The ‘Bhumi Pujan’ for the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya will begin at 12.30 pm today with Prime Minister Narendra Modi performing the ‘Shila Pujan’, ‘Bhumi Pujan’ and ‘Karma Shila Pujan’.

According to an official statement, the main ‘puja’ will be held between 12.44 pm and 12.45 pm during the 32-second ‘Abhijit Muhurat’. It is the same ‘muhurat’ or auspicious moment when Lord Ram was believed to have been born.

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The Prime Minister will lay a 40-kg silver brick to symbolise the start of construction of the temple that is at the core of the ruling BJP’s ideology and poll promises. A campaign for the temple marked the rise of the party to the national spotlight in the 1990s.

PM Modi is likely to spend around three hours in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

He will arrive from Delhi at Lucknow airport at 10.35 am and immediately leave for Ayodhya by a helicopter. The Prime Minister will arrive in Ayodhya at 11.30 am at the Saket Mahavidyalaya where his chopper will land.

At 11.40 am, PM Modi will go to Hanuman Garhi temple where he will offer prayers for 10 minutes and then proceed to the Ram Janmabhoomi complex where he will offer prayers to Ram Lalla Virajman.

The Prime Minister will plant a ‘Parijat’ sapling in the temple complex and then proceed for the Bhumi Pujan ceremony. PM Modi is likely to use the traditional natural drip irrigation, achieved by placing an unglazed clay pot filled with water parallel to the roots of the plant thereby providing water to the plant for about a week, while planting the auspicious ‘Parijat’ sapling.

After the ceremony which will end at 12.45 pm, the Prime Minister will address the saints for about an hour after which he will fly back to Lucknow around 2 pm and then return to Delhi.

Meanwhile, as per the latest reports, PM Modi has left for Ayodhya by a special flight to take part in the event.

PM Modi is returning to Ayodhya after 29 years today for the Ram Temple groundbreaking ceremony. The Uttar Pradesh government said that PM Modi is the first prime minister to visit ram janmabhoomi.

The guest list has been severely restricted in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. Besides PM Modi, 50 VIPs including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will attend the ceremony.

PM Modi and four other persons — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat, Ram Mandir Trust Chief Nritya Gopaldas, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and CM Yogi Adityanath — will be on the stage for the mega event.

The Ram Janmabhoomi movement’s guiding force and BJP patriarch LK Advani will attend the ceremony virtually.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had on Saturday invited Advani and veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi via phone calls.

Breaking his silence late on Tuesday evening on the ‘Bhumi Pujan’ of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Advani called it “an emotional and historical day”.

“I feel humbled that during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, destiny made me perform a pivotal duty in the form of the Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990, which helped galvanise the aspirations, energies and passions of its countless participants,” said the 92-year-old.

He also hailed the Supreme Court verdict in November 2019, calling it “decisive”, which paved way for the construction of the Ram Mandir, in what Advani called “an environment of tranquility”. He stressed that it will go a long way in strengthening the bond between Indians.

In view of the grand ceremony, security has been hightened in Uttar Pradesh and the bordering areas.

The Uttar Pradesh police and Sashastra Seema Bal have been put on high alert in the districts bordering Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ayodhya.

The forces have stepped up vigil along the border in Maharajganj, Siddharthanagar, Shrawasti and Bahraich, Additional Director General of Gorakhpur Zone Dawa Sherpa said.

Cameras have been put on SSB posts besides the main roads. The dog squad and one platoon of women wing have also been deployed. Metal detectors have been installed at Sonauli and Tutibari outposts on Indo-Nepal border (in Maharajganj).

Orders have been issued to other security agencies such as Indo-Nepal Border Police, Local Intelligence Unit and other intelligence agencies to be on alert, and patrolling of public places such as hotels, rail and bus stations has also been intensified.

The security arrangements across the state, especially in Ayodhya and on the Indo-Nepal border, has been beefed up after intelligence agencies warned of a possible terror attack in August.

The Pilibhit police has installed five barriers at different checking points along the 56 km-long Indo-Nepal border in the district to prevent infiltration bid by anti-social elements in the Indian territory.

An additional barricade has been erected on the Pilibhit-Lucknow highway for checking of suspicious vehicles.

In view of the Bhumi Puja ceremony of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on Wednesday, security has been beefed up in two southern Assam districts — Cachar and Karimganj, officials said.

Executive Magistrates have been appointed to oversee the situations, officials said on Tuesday, adding Central para-military and state security forces led by senior police officers have been deployed in Cachar and Karimganj districts.

Security has also been tightened and vigil increased across Karnataka.

Section 144 has been imposed in Karantaka’s Kalaburagi in the wake of “bhumi pujan” at Ayodhya.

“Section 144 imposed in Kalaburagi City in the wake of bhumi pujan in Ayodhya. The order is in force since 4 August, 3 pm till 6 August 6 am,” Police Commissioner, Kalaburagi City said.

Earlier today morning, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad shared a sketch from the original document of the Constitution of India showing Lord Ram, Sita and Laxman returning to Ayodhya after defeating Ravan.

Meanwhile, the design of the planned Ram Temple in Ayodhya was released on Tuesday by the trust overseeing its construction.

A series of images showed a grand three-storey stone structure on a raised platform with multiple turrets, pillars and domes. The temple will be 161 feet tall and almost double the size of what was originally planned, according to its architect.

The temple, to be constructed in Nagara style of architecture, will have five domes instead of two as envisaged earlier to accommodate more number of devotees, the architect said.

According to him, the project is likely to be completed in the next three years once the work commences.

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In November last year, the Supreme Court had paved the way for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a “prominent” place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.