Ayodhya, Aug 3 (IANS): Two brothers, both in their 70s, have collected water from 151 rivers across the country and three seas and have now brought it to Ayodhya ahead of the 'bhumi pujan' of the Ram temple.

Radhey Shyam Pandey and Pandit Triphala, who belong to Jaunpur district, have been collecting water from the Indian rivers and seas and also soil from 16 places in Sri Lanka since 1968.

"It has always been our dream that whenever the Ram Temple gets constructed, we will gift the holy water from rivers across India and soil from Sri Lanka. We have collected water from 151 rivers, three seas and soil from 16 places in Sri Lanka," said Radhey Shyam Pandey.

Since 1968 to 2019, the brothers have been travelling on foot, cycle, motorcycle, train, and airplane to collect the elements.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

The construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya will begin after the ceremony that is likely to be attended by saints and seers, top leaders from the government, RSS and Hindu organizations.

The Supreme Court had on November 9, 2019 directed the central government to hand over the site at Ayodhya for the construction of Ram temple.