Ram temple consecration to take place at 12.20 pm

AYODHYA: The consecration of Ram Lalla in the newly built temple in Ayodhya will take place at 12.20 pm on January 22, said Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai on Monday.

Interacting with reporters here, he said: “Pran pratistha will take place at 12.20 pm. After this, you should perform aarti, distribute prasad in the localities and markets, and light lamps after sunset.”

“A similar appeal has been made by the prime minister to the entire world,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be participating in the consecration ceremony.

Rai attended the launch of the ‘akshat’ distribution programme in Ayodhya on Monday. Bougainvillaea flowers from a nursery in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal will be used to decorate the Ram temple premises in Ayodhya ahead of the consecration ceremony.

Bhopal-based Nisarg nursery owner Ramkumar Rathore said his facility has received orders for the flowers and they have already dispatched two consignments each of 10,000 flowers to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. More than one lakh devotees are expected to descend on Ayodhya to mark the occasion of ‘pran pratishtha’ (consecration) of Lord Ram on January 22.

“We have received orders from Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi to provide five-six varieties of flowers. These include various colours of bougainvillaea including white, orange, red and yellow,” Rathore said.

The flowers of these species bloom in all seasons. They do not need much care and can be maintained with less quantity of water, he said.

The Rathore family-owned nursery won the order for supplying the flowers following a bidding process for the plantation at the Ram temple premises and its corridor.