Pictures of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya were released by the government on Tuesday, a day before 'bhoomi pujan' (ground-breaking) ceremony of the temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to be held on August 5, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend.

The pictures show a grand three-storeyed structure with multiple domes and pillars. The proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya will be almost double the size of what was originally planned as its design was modified after the Supreme Court verdict in 2019, the architect of the temple had said earlier. The temple is to be constructed in Nagara style of architecture and will have five domes instead of two as envisaged earlier to accommodate more number of devotees.

175 eminent guests have been invited for the ceremony and 135 ‘sants’ belonging to 135 spiritual traditions will be present at the programme. Some eminent citizens of Ayodhya have also been invited, the official account of the Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra tweeted.

According to him, the project is likely to be completed in the next three years once the work commences.

"The design of the temple was modified after the Supreme Court verdict. Now it will be almost double the size of what was originally planned," architect Chandrakant Sompura, who has designed it, told PTI. "It will now have a shikhara (tower) over the sanctum sanctorum and five domes instead of the earlier plan of two domes. The height of the temple will also be more than what was in the previous plan," he said.

In November last year, the Supreme Court had paved the way for the construction of Ram temple by at the disputed site at Ayodhya, and directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh.