2 days ago
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Six months after the grand opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the first round of showers has caused heavy waterlogging in the temple city, raising questions over its swift and massive infrastructure overhaul.
The newly built Rampath road in Ayodhya which leads to the Ram Temple - has suffered several cave-ins since seasonal rain hit the temple town.
After potholes came up on the 14-km stretch, authorities said they immediately got the road repaired to avoid any inconvenience for the devotees. The state government has suspended three PWD engineers over negligence, officials said.
Ayodhya mayor Girish Pati Tripathi said that efforts to flush out the rainwater were launched soon after the waterlogging was reported.
Leakage was also reported at the temple after heavy rain at midnight last Saturday. The Chief Priest of the Ram Temple, claimed that rainwater that was leaking from the roof of the temple was collecting inside the temple. He also claimed that there was no arrangement to flush out the rainwater from the temple premises.
Responding to the claims, Champat Rai, General Secretary of the Trust, however, said "excellent arrangements" had been made at the temple to drain rainwater.
Mr Rai said while it appeared that water was leaking from the roof, it was in fact coming from a conduit pipe due to ongoing construction work on the first floor of the temple.
Nripendra Misra, the chairperson of the Ram Mandir's management trust had earlier said that the alleged water leakage at the Ram Mandir was "expected because the Guru Mandap is exposed to the sky."
"I am in Ayodhya. I saw the rainwater dropping from the first floor. This is expected because Guru Mandap is exposed to the sky 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," Mr Mishra had told ANI on Monday.
The opposition leaders, however, were quick to pounce on the BJP and alleged that there was large scale corruption in the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. ''Even the places of worship are sources of loot for the BJP,'' UP Congress President Ajay Rai said.
The Ram Temple in Ayodhya was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22. Considered the birthplace of Lord Ram, Ayodhya's Ram Temple is one of the holiest sites in Hindusim.
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