Overview

• The foundation stone was laid on August 8 at Punaura Dham, a site revered as Goddess Sita’s birthplace, with traditional bhoomi pujan rites using soil from 21 pilgrimage sites and water from 31 rivers.
• The integrated project spans 67 acres and calls for a 151-foot-high central sanctum, corridors, museums and cultural gardens modelled on Ayodhya’s Ram temple design.
• Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation will oversee construction through a newly formed nine-member trust chaired by the state chief secretary.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah virtually flagged off the Sitamarhi–Delhi Amrit Bharat Express to bolster pilgrim access to the temple precincts.
• This initiative aligns with the central Swadesh Darshan Ramayana tourism circuit and coincides with political efforts to energize rural pilgrimage hubs ahead of Bihar’s Assembly elections.