These temples are in the making in Ranchi after the Pran Pratishtha ceremony was held and the doors of Ram Mandir were thrown open for the public in Ayodhya on January 23.

Clearly, at least three new Ram temples are in the making. Nobody knows, the total number of temples in Jharkhand. However, what Ranchi, situated in the Hindi heartland of India, waiting to witness, is people walking and watching these Ram temples from far and wide amid traffic jams.

Following the Pran Pratishtha ceremony held on January 22, the Ranchi city has been flooded by saffron flags, attracting devotees from across the Mohalla and colony. All on the government land, built illegally.

These temples owned either by priests or Hindu bodies stand beyond the reach of the strong arm of the law. Each fetches tonnes of donations regularly.

Investigation revealed that India has about 35 lakh mandirs across the country and most of these bigger mandirs are getting transformed into bigger places, including the Puri Temple in Odisha or Mahakal in Ujjain, for that matter Varanasi and now Ayodhya. 

 All three Mandir premises are located along the busy main road in the state capital city. 

One is located on the left-hand side of the Saheed Chowk. The second one stands in front of the city centre - Albert Ekka Chowk. The third one is the beautification of Mahavir Mandir near Kali Mandir. 

The cost of land in these central areas of the city is over Rs 1lakh per square foot. Each of the above Ram and Mahavir Mandirs was spread over 20 square feet. Notably, the land over which these Mandirs in the making exist is the government’s land. 

No authority of the state government has approved the construction of any of these temples. Still, nobody has raised questions about the legality of these new Ram temples in the making.