Ayodhya (UP), Nov 7 (IANS): The first floor of the Ram temple is also likely to be inaugurated on January 22 next year when the consecration of Ram Lalla will take place at the temple’s sanctum-sanctorum in Ayodhya.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided to complete construction work of the first floor of the temple by December 31 this year.

Presiding over a meeting of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, Nripendra Misra, chairman of the committee, reviewed the progress of the construction work on the temple on Monday.

During the meeting, agencies involved in the construction work assured Misra that construction work of the ground floor will be completed by December 31. They also assured him that the first floor of the temple will also be ready for inauguration by the same date.

“The ground floor will be ready by December 31. We are also trying to complete the first floor and make it ready for inauguration,” Anil Mishra, member of the Trust, told reporters on Tuesday.

The toilet complex in the temple will also be ready, Mishra added.

According to the Trust, all 14 doors of the ground floor of the temple and four entrance gates are ready. The flooring of the temple’s sanctum-sanctorum is ready and pillars are being laid on the first floor.

“The ground floor of the Ram temple is almost complete. The sanctum-sanctorum is also complete. Only finishing work is being done here,” said a member of the Trust.

According to the Trust, 160 pillars have been laid on the temple’s ground floor and 132 pillars will come up on the first floor, while 74 pillars will come up on the temple’s second floor. Each floor is 20 feet high.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will preside over the consecration ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.

The temple will be opened for devotees from the next day. The Trust is also finalising a list of 4,000 seers and 2,500 prominent people from across the country who will be invited for the opening ceremony.