Rameswaram (TN):
Soil was collected from the holy “Agni Theertham” sea here by a pro-Hindu outfit and others and sent to Ayodhya on Thursday to be used in the construction of the Ram temple.
The bhumi pujan or ground breaking ceremony of the Ram temple is scheduled to be held on August 5 in Ayodhya which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to the legend, Lord Ram worshipped Lord Shiva in the form of a Linga at this island on his return with Sita from Sri Lanka after vanquishing Ravana. The famous Ramanathaswamy temple here is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
On Thursday, some priests, functionaries of Hindu Munnani and locals gathered sand from the sea, held special pujas, packed it in a gold-plated box and sent it to Ayodhya to be used in the construction of the temple, the outfit said.
The soil was sent by post, it said.
The construction of the long-awaited temple is set to commence with the ground breaking ceremony after the Supreme Court in a unanimous verdict cleared the way for it at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a mosque.
