The third phase of Ram temple construction work in Ayodhya got under way on Monday with the laying of the plinth amid Vedic rituals.
In the first and second phases of the construction work, temple’s foundation and raft were laid.
Champat Rai, general secretary of Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust, gave this information. After the completion of plinth work, construction of the temple’s main structure would start, he added.
Each plinth will be six-and-a-half-metre high. Around 17000 plinths will be laid in the third phase of construction work. On the occasion, several members of the Trust, including Mahant Dhinendra Das, Dr Anil Mishra and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra were present.
Plinth or the granite stone is the lowest part of a building and it works as a base for any structure. It is in the form of a rectangular block or slab. In the foundation work, 47 layers of roller compacted cement (RCC) of one feet width have been laid.
The foundation work began from 14-metre below the surface at the sanctum sanctorum of the temple in April 2021. The foundation is 107 feet above sea level and “gitti” (crushed stone) of Banda, coarse sand, fly ash and asbestos have been used.
A raft is used when the soil is weak. It helps distribute the weight of the building over entire area of the building. This also helps reduce stress on the soil. Larsen and Toubro is carrying out construction work of the Ram temple. The Tata Consulting Engineers is working as project management consultant and is assisting the Larsen and Toubro in the construction work.