By Navneet Mishra

New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): The under-construction Ram temple in Ayodhya will be strong enough to withstand earthquakes or even if the Saryu river changes course.

All technical experts including IIT engineers are busy brainstorming to boost the temple construction, which is said to be 1,000 years old. Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, told IANS on Wednesday that all the homework is being done for the construction of the temple.

As Ayodhya is situated on the banks of Saryu river, when the remains of the temple were excavated, crumbly sand emerged creating a challenge for laying the foundation. Asked about this, Rai said, "This challenge has been accepted by the Indian engineers. The river has a bank and the river may change course. Earthquakes may occur in the future. Below is the crumbly sand. Taking all these things seriously, experts are preparing for strong construction."

Rai said, "Sand has been found up to 60 metres below the proposed site for construction of the temple. We have also asked for photos from ISRO. It has been revealed that Saryu river has changed direction five times. The river may change direction in the next 500 years also. The temple construction committee is taking all these things into account."

Rai said, "There was brainstorming of experts on this subject. It has been decided that the way a dam wall is built, that method should be adopted for the construction of the temple foundation."

"Engineers at IIT-Bombay, Delhi, Chennai, and Guwahati, experts from Larsen & Toubro and Tata are working on drawing up a strong foundation for the temple. We expect the foundation to be built in the next 2-3 days. The map will also be ready."

The Ram temple will be constructed with stones. The height of each floor will be 20 feet, length 360 feet and width 235 feet. The construction work is under the supervision of Nripendra Mishra, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Rai, who is also vice-president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, told IANS that a grand Ram temple would be completed in Ayodhya in the next three years. The map of the temple will be wider than the old map, because now more land is available.