Construction of Ram temple set to begin from today

The construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is set to begin today when the first bricks will be laid for its foundation, according to a spokesperson for the head of the temple trust. The event will be marked by prayers to Lord Shiva at the Kuber Tila shrine on the Ram Janmabhoomi site, allocated for the temple in a historic Supreme Court verdict last November. The 16th-century Babri mosque that stood on the disputed site in Ayodhya was demolished in 1992 by kar sevaks claiming that originally there was a Ram temple at the same spot. In its verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of construction of a temple at the site. It also ordered that an alternative five-acre plot must be found within Ayodhya for a mosque.