The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is geared up to hold a special ceremony and celebrations as the first consignment of teakwood from the forests of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra is being despatched to Ayodhya on Wednesday for the construction of Ram temple. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and party workers will participate in the event organised in Chandrapur district. A ‘shobha yatra’ has been organised. “We are proud that teakwood from Maharashtra will be used for temple building. The high-quality teakwood from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli forests will be used for making the main door of the temple. It will also be used for the carvings in the temple,” Mungantiwar told reporters. The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra placed an order of 1,800 cubic feet of teakwood with the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra. Mungantiwar, who himself had participated in the ‘karseva’ (voluntary labour) during Ram Janmabhoomi movement that led to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, said that a large number of activists from Maharashtra had visited Ayodhya to participate in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. “Today, when the Ram temple is being built, stones have been acquired from Rajasthan. Maharashtra is contributing the wood. We feel blessed," the minister said. The teak from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli, known for its best-quality wood, was selected for the temple construction based on the recommendation of the Forest Research Institute at Dehradun. Accordingly, the temple construction trust placed the order with the Maharashtra government. "Since it was for a noble cause we wanted to give them for free. But the trust insisted on acquiring it through payment. So we gave them a concession rate," Mungantiwar said. The minister revealed that a team of experts and engineers had visited to ascertain the wood quality and then placed the order. “The teakwood will be despatched as per the requirement at intervals. The first consignment is going today,” he said. The BJP has organised a function with the rendering of hymns praising Lord Ram. Several karsevaks who participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement will attend the function. Mungantiwar who is the fifth-term MLA represents Ballarpur in Chandrapur district.
