New Ayodhya mosque to be bigger than Babri masjid, foundation laying ceremony likely on Republic Day

AYODHYA: While construction of a grand Ram temple is undergoing under the supervision of the Supreme Court-mandated Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Shetra Trust, it has also emerged that the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) may lay the foundation stone of the mosque slated to be built in Ayodhya.

The event is likely to be held on Republic Day, according to media reports. A mosque is slated to be constructed on a five-acre plot allotted to the board in Dhannipur village in Ayodhya.

The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board is expected to hold a press conference on December 19 to make a formal announcement in this regard. The blueprint of the structure will be unveiled during the press conference. The designs of the structure will be in accordance with the historic significance of the place.

Nearly six months ago, the board set up the Indo-Islamic Cultural foundation - a trust to oversee the construction of the mosque in Ayodhya. 

The members of the trust want to lay the foundation-stone laying ceremony on January 26 as it was 'on this day that the Constitution came into effect'. As per reports, the structure of the new mosque will be bigger than the Babri Masjid, but its design may differ from the mosque in the Ram Janmabhoomi premises. 

It may be noted that Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Shetra Trust has announced that the Ram temple in Ayodhya will be constructed using domestic funds collected from the general public through a mass contact programme.

Champat Rai, the general secretary of the trust, said that the trust doesn't have required approvals for accepting donations from abroad.

Underlining that the Ram temple would actually take the form of a "Rashtra temple", Rai also said that Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Shetra is going to start the mass contact and contribution campaign across the country for the construction of the temple.

Rai said that the `Shri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan` drive will run next year from January 15 to February 27. He stressed that the support of every Ram devotee from all over the country will be solicited for the grand temple to be built on the birthplace of Bhagwan Sri Rama in Ayodhya.