According to Sompura, he was asked to prepare a design for the Ram temple by the late leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Singhal, around 30 years ago.
The architect, who has designed the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya, said it is “special” to him as it is being built at Ram Janmabhoomi.
“This project is special as it is being built at the birthplace of Lord Ram. We have to ensure that it should be the best,” said architect Chandrakant Sompura.
The 77-year-old, who comes from a family of temple architects that have designed over 200 such structures, said the Ayodhya Ram temple project is special to him just as the Somnath temple was for his grandfather Prabhashankar Sompura, who designed and oversaw its reconstruction.
According to Sompura, he was asked to prepare a design for the Ram temple by the late leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Ashok Singhal, around 30 years ago.
Designing the temple was an uphill task 30 years back, as he had to prepare drawings using his footsteps as the unit of measurement
"When I first visited the site in Ayodhya in 1990, nothing was allowed to be taken inside the premises due to security concerns, not even a measurement tape and I had to measure with my footsteps," Sompura said.
The first design of the temple was prepared in 1990. On the basis of which the VHP had started preparation for its construction in the 1990s by setting up a unit of the carving of stones in Ayodhya, he said.
However, after the Supreme Court verdict in favour of construction at the Ramjamabhoomi site, the temple design has been changed. Now will be almost double the size of what was originally planned, said Sompura.
Ram Mandir: Here's the design and how the temple will look
The temple, to be constructed in Nagara style of architecture, will have a shikhara (tower) over the sanctum sanctorum and five domes instead of two as envisaged earlier to accommodate more number of devotees, the architect said.
The height of the temple will also be more than what was in the previous plan, he said.
According to him, the project is likely to be completed in the next three years once the work commences.
The 'bhoomi poojan' (ground-breaking) ceremony of the temple was performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5.
PM Modi at Ayodhya: A quick look at how Ram Mandir bhoomi poojan ceremony unfolded
(With inputs from PTI)