AYODHYA: Five months after the inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, water leaked from the roof of the temple’s sanctum sanctorum as the temple town received the season’s first pre-monsoon shower early Sunday.
Temple’s chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, expressed concern over the seepage as water was dripping right in front of the Ram Lalla idol. “In the first rain, the roof of the sanctum sanctorum, where the idol of Ram Lalla was installed, started to leak.There is no arrangement to drain water out of the temple. Attention should be paid to the matter and to find out what was missing,” Das told ANI.
“If the rain intensifies, it would be difficult to offer prayers at the temple,” he added.
After the leakage was reported to the higher authorities, temple construction committee chairman Nripendra Mishra rushed to the spot and gave necessary instructions to the vendors for repair and waterproofing of the roofs.
Mishra, however, explained that the seepage occurred as the temple is still under construction and its mandaps are yet to be closed.
“I am in Ayodhya. I saw the rainwater dropping from the first floor. This is expected because Guru Mandap is exposed to the skies as the second floor and completion of shikhar will cover this opening. I also saw some seepage from the conduit as this work on the first floor is in progress. On completion, the conduit will be closed,” the former principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi said.
On Das’ concern over no arrangement to drain water out, he said: “There is no drainage in the sanctum sanctorum because all the mandaps have measured slope for clearance of water and the water in garbha griha is manually absorbed. Moreover, the devotees are not performing ‘abhishek’ on the deity.”
Ruling out any construction flaw in the temple, Mishra said, “There is no design or construction issue. The mandaps which are open may get rainwater drops, which was debated, but the decision was to keep it open as per Nagar architectural norms.”
Temple’s chief priest, Acharya Satyendra Das, expressed concern over the seepage as water was dripping right in front of the Ram Lalla idol. “In the first rain, the roof of the sanctum sanctorum, where the idol of Ram Lalla was installed, started to leak.There is no arrangement to drain water out of the temple. Attention should be paid to the matter and to find out what was missing,” Das told ANI.
“If the rain intensifies, it would be difficult to offer prayers at the temple,” he added.
After the leakage was reported to the higher authorities, temple construction committee chairman Nripendra Mishra rushed to the spot and gave necessary instructions to the vendors for repair and waterproofing of the roofs.
Mishra, however, explained that the seepage occurred as the temple is still under construction and its mandaps are yet to be closed.
“I am in Ayodhya. I saw the rainwater dropping from the first floor. This is expected because Guru Mandap is exposed to the skies as the second floor and completion of shikhar will cover this opening. I also saw some seepage from the conduit as this work on the first floor is in progress. On completion, the conduit will be closed,” the former principal secretary to PM Narendra Modi said.
On Das’ concern over no arrangement to drain water out, he said: “There is no drainage in the sanctum sanctorum because all the mandaps have measured slope for clearance of water and the water in garbha griha is manually absorbed. Moreover, the devotees are not performing ‘abhishek’ on the deity.”
Ruling out any construction flaw in the temple, Mishra said, “There is no design or construction issue. The mandaps which are open may get rainwater drops, which was debated, but the decision was to keep it open as per Nagar architectural norms.”
