With experts claiming that it will take at least five years to complete construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, saints in the temple town have demanded that a temporary temple be constructed and Ram Lalla be shifted there.

Mahant Raju Das of the famous Hanumangarhi temple said on Monday that since 1992, Ram Lalla was ‘staying’ in a tent.

“As construction of a grand temple is likely to take five years’ time, as a temporary arrangement, a small temple should be built so that devotees coming for darshan of Ram Lalla do not face any difficulty,” he said.

“After the Supreme Court judgement, Ram bhakts will not accept Ram Lalla still staying under the tent,” he added.

Mahant Ramchandra Das of Nishkam Seva Trust also supported the views of shifting Ram Lalla to any other place so that pilgrim could have easy darshan and puja could be done as per the rituals.

Another saint, Santram Bhushan Kripalu, said that Ram bhakts had sacrificed their lives in the Ram Janmabhoomi struggle and now it would not be prudent to keep them waiting to offer puja.

Meanwhile, the number of devotees coming to the makeshift temple to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla is increasing day by day. On Sunday, over 5,500 people prayed in the temple against 2,500 on Saturday when the apex court judgement came on the title suit. On Monday, the number of devotees crossed  the 6,000-mark.

On normal days, the number of devotees coming for darshan of Ram Lalla is around 10,000 and during festivals this number crosses the 50,000-mark.

The Patna-based Mahaveer Seva Trust headed by former IPS officer Acharya Kishore Kunal has announced to give Rs 10 crore for the Ram temple. It said Rs 2 crore would be given every year for the next five years.

“We are ready go give more funds if required. Besides, our Trust will run a Ram rasoi to offer free food to the pilgrims at the Ram Janmabhoomi,” he said.