Ayodhya, Jan 6 (IANS): Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust has asked top sculptors in the country to send their models for the statue of Ram Lalla (Lord Ram in the form of a child) for the under construction Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The Trust will select one of the models for the Ram Mandir.

According to the trust members, well known sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo and Vasudev Kamath of Odisha, K.V. Maniya of Karnataka and Shashtrayajya Deulkar of Pune will be sending models of the statue, measuring nine to 12 inches.

Champat Rai, general secretary of the Trust, said, "Stones from Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka have been selected for preparing the idol of Ram Lalla. The Trust will approve the stones after finalising the model of the deity."

He said that the height of the statue will be around 8.5 feet to nine feet so that the sun rays could fall on the deity.

The Trust has roped in top institutes of the country having expertise in architecture and building design to model the Ram temple sanctum sanctorum in such a way that the sunlight falls on the forehead of Ram Lalla on every Ram Navmi, on the birth of the deity at 12 noon.

A team of experts from CSIR-CBRI of Roorkee, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune, and renowned temple architects has been constituted for the purpose.