Ayodhya: The Ayodhya Ram temple priest’s are making elaborate arrangements to lay foundation stone at Ram Janma Bhoomi on August 5. The first silver brick will be laid by PM Modi inside the sanctum, sanctorum during the “Bhoomi Poojan” ceremony. Five silver bricks will also be set inside the sanctum sanctorum during the ‘bhoomi poojan’ ceremony. The design and the architecture of the temple is the same as the one proposed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) — the design will follow Vishnu temple’s Nagara style while the ‘garbha griha’ will be octagonal.

Invitations have also been sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Nitish Kumar is among other chief ministers on the list. In all, around 300 people are likely to be sent an invitation. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is also likely to attend the ceremony. However, as compared to the earlier model, the length, breadth and height have been increased. Additionally, there will be five domes instead of the three that were previously envisioned.

The total area of the temple will be between 76,000 to 84,000 square ft earlier, it was estimated to be around 38,000 square ft. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray visited Ayodhya in the March 2020, and announced an aid of Rs 1 crore for the construction of Ram Temple while stressing that his party, the Shiv Sena, is committed to Hindutva even though it has broken ties with the BJP.