The magnificent temple in Ayodhya dedicated to Ram Lalla, the infant form of Lord Ram, is a true blend of traditional Indian heritage architecture and science-based building techniques, ensuring its longevity for centuries to come. Shri Nripendra Misra, the head of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Ayodhya, said, “the temple has been made to last more than a thousand years.”
He claims that leading scientists in India have helped transform it into an iconic structure. In the temple, even ISRO technologies have been used appropriately. The architectural style was based on the Nagar Shaily or northern Indian temple designs created by Chandrakant Sompura, a family architect with fifteen generations of experience creating historic temple buildings. The family created more than 100 temple designs.
Mr Sompura says “In the annals of architecture Shri Ram Temple will be the rarely seen, unique kind of splendid creation ever conceptualized not only in India but at any place on Earth.”
According to Nripendra Misra, the temple will have a built-up area of approximately 57,000 square feet and a total area of 2.7 acres. It will have three floors. He claims that since iron only lasts for 80–90 years, neither steel nor iron have been utilized in the temple. The temple will rise to a height of 161 feet, or roughly 70% of the Qutab Minar’s height.
According to Dr. Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla, Director of the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, who has been actively involved in the construction project, “the best quality granite, sandstone, and marble have been used, and there is no use of cement or lime mortar in the joints, only a lock and key mechanism using groves and ridges has been used in the construction of the entire structure.” According to CBRI, three-story buildings have been structurally designed to withstand earthquakes with a 2,500-year return period.
According to Mr. Misra, an investigation revealed that the ground beneath the temple was unstable and sandy because the Sarayu River once flowed close by, which presented a unique problem. However, the scientists came up with a brilliant fix for this issue. The entire temple area’s soil was first dug up to a depth of fifteen meters. According to Ramancharla, “An engineered soil was laid in the area to a depth of 12-14 meters, no steel re-bars were used, and the 47 layered bases were compacted to make it solid rock-like.”
A 1.5 meter thick M-35 grade metal-free concrete raft was layered as reinforcement on top of this. A plinth made of solid granite taken from southern India that was 6.3 meters thick was positioned there to further fortify the foundation.
Pink sandstone from Rajasthan known as “Bansi Paharpur” stone makes up the portion of the temple that will be visible to tourists. There are 160 total columns on the ground floor, 132 on the first floor, and 74 on the second floor, all of which are composed of sandstone and have external carvings, according to CBRI. White makrana marble from Rajasthani quarries lines the sanctum sanctorum. It should be noted that marble from the Makrana mines was used to build the Taj Mahal.
As of early 2020, the institute has been involved in the construction of Ram Mandir. In a project-mode capacity, the institute has contributed to the structural design of the main temple, the design of the ‘Surya Tilak’ mechanism, the design vetting of the temple foundation, and the structural health monitoring of the main temple.
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