Deity installation ceremony in Ayodhya’s Ram Temple in January 2024: VHP

A grand 'pran pratishtha' (installation of the deity) ceremony will be organised at the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya in January 2024 before it is opened for devotees, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, VHP General Secretary Milind Parande said the programme of 'pran pratishta' at Ramjanmabhoomi in the Uttar Pradesh town will be held during the 15-day period after Makar Sankranti in January next year.

He said preparations for the grand programme have already started and the multi-day event is likely to attended by 25 lakh to 40 lakh devotees.

On March 15, a prominent member of the trust set up for the construction and management of the shrine said the idol of Lord Ram Lalla will be installed at its original place in the temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the third week of January 2024.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj had said in Thane that the temple construction work was going on in full swing.

At the press conference, Parande also informed that the VHP recently concluded its membership campaign and saw more than 100 per cent rise in enrolments.

"We had made 34 lakh members in the last campaign and have enrolled nearly 72 lakh members this year. We are now present in more than 1.35 lakh villages in the country," claimed Parande.

The Hindutva outfit has its network in 29 countries and started its work in Suriname (northern South America) and the Caribbean (located between North America and South America) from this year, said the organisation's general secretary.