Ram Mandir trust to launch nationwide fund collection drive next month for temple construction

In a series of tweets, the temple trust says voluntary donations will be accepted for which coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 will be available.

The proposed model of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya | Photo: ANI

New Delhi: A “mass contact and contribution campaign” will be initiated by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra from 15 January to collect funds for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. 

“The Trust has envisaged that just as crores of Shri Rambhakts contributed for the mukti of Shri Ramjanmbhoomi, similarly the Mandir shall also be built with the voluntary contribution of crores of Shri Rambhakts (sic),” the trust said in a series of tweets Tuesday.

“This abhiyan (campaign) will be run across the nation. Photo of the proposed new model of Shri Ramjanmbhoomi Mandir will also reach crores of households through this campaign. Voluntary donations from Rambhakts will be accepted for which coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 will be available,” added the trust, constituted to look after the construction and management of the temple.

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Shetra is going to start a Mass Contact and Contribution Campaign for construction of a Bhavya & Divya mandir at the birthplace of Bhagwan Shri Ramlalla. The public will also be made aware of the historical significance of the Janmabhoomi Movement.

— Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra (@ShriRamTeerth) December 15, 2020

 

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) will play a crucial role in this campaign as it aims to target four lakh villages across the country.

“VHP has been at the forefront of the Ayodhya movement. Now that the mandir is being constructed, we will be providing help to the trust to collect the funds and reach out to the public. Our target is to reach 11 lakh families, which amounts to 55 crore people. We will go to each Ram bhakt (devotee), whether Hindu or not,” said Vinod Bansal, VHP national spokesperson.

Bansal said the name of the campaign is Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan. He further said all the funds collected through the campaign will go directly in the account of the Trust.

Campaign highlights

As part of the “mass contact and contribution campaign”, the public will also be made aware of the historical significance of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

“This campaign will commence on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti and will continue till Magh Purnima. Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra calls upon all Shri Ram bhakts to devote their time to this historic campaign,” the trust tweeted. 

Sources in the temple trust said the aim is to collect as much funds as possible and those who want to donate more than Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 will be given proper receipts. 

“This door-to-door campaign will start on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti on 15 January and will end on Magh Purnima on 27 February,” a trust member told ThePrint.

Coupons of Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000 denominations have been printed for this purpose and will be used for collecting funds. 

VHP’s Bansal said: “Apart from informing people about the significance of the Ayodhya movement, we will also distribute posters and calendars of Lord Ram to each household.” 

He further said they will highlight the entire Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which finally culminated in the bhoomi pujan of the temple on 5 August this year. He further said that in 1989, the VHP had carried out ‘shila pujan’ for the Ram Mandir in around 2.75 lakh villages across the country.