Five firms shortlisted for construction of the statue have given presentations before Yogi Adityanath and soil testing is being done for installing the statue. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

The Uttar Pradesh government has rushed to reveal details of the Ram statue it plans to build in Ayodhya, hours before a massive push by the Shiv Sena and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad for Ram temple in the city.

Yogi Adityanath-led government on Saturday night announced that the Ram statue, to be built on the banks of River Sarayu, will be 221-metre tall. The statue will be built of bronze and while the height of the actual statue would be 151 metres, its overhead umbrella would be 20 metres while the pedestal would be 50 metres, UP Principal Secretary (Information) Avanish Awasthi told PTI.

A model of the proposed Ram statue presented to Yogi Adityanath yesterday. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

Five firms shortlisted for construction of the statue have given presentations before Yogi Adityanath Saturday evening and soil testing is being done for installing the statue.

However, the government has not yet revealed the details of the cost of constructing this statue and its possible locations.

UP minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary had earlier told India Today that the decision to build the Ram statue was taken by the state government last year during the Diwali celebrations.

"It has been decided that the flow of river Saryu will be diverted in such a way that the water touches the feet of Lord Ram statue once it is ready. The irrigation department is already working on it," Chaudhary had said.

(Photo: Twitter/ANI)

The hurried announcement comes hours before VHP's Dharm Sabha in Ayodhya which is being backed by the Shiv Sena. Thousands of Shiv Sena and VHP supporters are in the city to push for the expedition of Ram temple construction.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also reached Ayodhya on Saturday with his family to attend the event. Thackeray has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for delaying the Ram temple construction. "Wo kehte hain ki mandir wahin banayenge. Par kabhi tareek nahi battle (They [BJP] claim that they will make the temple, but they shy away from telling the date when it will be accomplished)."

Thackeray said there is a strong BJP government in Uttar Pradesh and a BJP-led majority government at the Centre. "The temple should have already been constructed. Do whatever you want to do, whether it is coming up with a law or bringing in an ordinance, but the temple must be constructed," he said.

LIVE UPDATES: Shiv Sena, VHP's push for Ram temple in Ayodhya

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