Coinciding with the grand event in Ayodhya, a ceremony to mark the inauguration of a Ram Temple will be held at Fatehgarh village in Bhapur area of Nayagarh district on Monday.

The temple stands atop a 1800 feet high hill amid scenic surroundings. It has been built with donations from villagers and devotees from across the state at over Rs 10 crore. The temple has been constructed using the ‘Baulamala’ stone.

Sources said the construction of the temple with a height of 165 feet began in 2017. More than 150 workers were engaged in the construction of the temple.

According to locals, the idea of the Ram Temple in the area has historical significance. Lord Govardhan has been worshipped on this mountain for decades. Moreover, in 1912, during the Nabakalebar of Lord Jagannath, the wood for Lord Sudharshan was collected from Fatehgarh. To commemorate this, the villagers took an initiative and formed a committee – Shri Ram Seva Parishad for the construction of the temple.

Shankaracharya of Puri Govardhan Peeth Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb and saints from different places have been invited to attend the inauguration ceremony. While the Shankaracharya is set to take part in the ‘pran pratistha,’ Puri Gajapati will be performing ‘purna ahuti’ during the ceremony.

Priests of different temples, along with those at Puri Jagannath temple have also been invited. Sources said 5T and Nabin Odisha Chairman V K Pandian is also likely to attend the grand event.

The rituals for the consecration of the new temple began on Wednesday with Ankuropan and the Kalash Yatra was held on Thursday. Hundreds of women from Fategarh village fetched water from Mahanadi river for the consecration ceremony.

Basant Pati, member of Ram Mandir Nirman Trust, told the media that the traditional invitation card along with symbolic accompaniments including rice, coconut and betelnuts were offered to Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra inside the temple.

The Lords have been invited to attend the inauguration of the Shri Ram temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and consecration of the idols in January 22.

Pati also requested the people of Odisha to celebrate the day by organising community puja, recitation of ‘Sundar Kand’ and ‘Hanuman Chalisha’ and lighting at least 5 lamps in their local temples on the day.

The day should be celebrated in a grand way like celebration of Diwali amid religious fervour to recall the festive atmosphere in Ayodhya on the return of Lord Ram, Pati said.

“Be it Bollywood or sports celebrities, corporate Moghuls, scientists, judges, journalists, politicians, saints or seers, we have made sure to invite famous personalities from all sectors. Other than these, the invitations are being sent to poets, singers and Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan award recipients for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony scheduled for January 22 next year,” said Sharad Sharma, regional spokesperson of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ayodhya.

Among the VVIPs are big names such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Kangana Ranaut, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, Yoga guru Ramdev, and industrialists Mukesh Ambai, Ratan Tata, and Gautam Adani. The trust has also invited actor Arun Govil who played the role of Lord Ram in the famous TV serial ‘Ramayan’ as well as Dipika Chikhlia, who played the role of Sita.

As a mark of respect and gratitude, the family members of Kar Sewaks who lost their lives in the Ram Temple movement, have also been invited to the function.

A team of 21 pandits from Varanasi, comprising scholars proficient in all four Vedas, will also attend the ceremony. “Pt Laxmikant Dixit, a distinguished Vedic scholar, will lead the team, which includes his two sons, Pt Jaikrishna Dixit and Sunil Dixit, both accomplished scholars of Vedas, along with 18 other pandits from Kashi,” officials with the trust said.

The officials confirmed that the idol to be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple is almost complete. Altogether, three idols of Lord Ram have been prepared of which the best would be placed in the sanctum sanctorum on January 22.