Stage set for mega 'Bhumi Pujan' at Ayodhya

New Delhi: Grand preparations are underway for the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5.

A host of other VIPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar will be present at the event.

Five silver bricks will also be set inside the sanctum during the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony. The first will be laid by the Prime Minister.

Nritya Gopal Das, president of the trust mandated by the Supreme Court, said the "bhoomi pujan" will be performed by placing the silver brick at the sanctum. Three-day-long Vedic rituals will be held before the main ceremony, which will begin on August 3.

More than 50 VIPs will attend the event, which was delayed by more than two months due to the coronavirus outbreak. Giant CCTV screens have been put up across Ayodhya so the devotees can watch the programme, the Trust said.

BJP veterans Lal Krishna Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi and senior leaders like Uma Bharti, Vinay Katiyar and Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aadityanath, the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's chief Mohan Bhagwat will also join the "bhoomi pujan" ceremony.