15-foot-high diya to mark consecration

Rourkela: A voluntary organisation in Sundargarh district is preparing a massive diya (earthen lamp) to light at Hanuman Vatika to mark the consecration of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on January 22.The outfit, which is aiming to prepare the largest diya in the world, has engaged a team of eight artisans from Kolkata to make the lamp. “The lamp will be 15ft high and 15ft in width and will hold around 7,000 litres of ghee in it,” the founder of Smile Forever Foundation, Santosh Biswal, said, adding that a 15m-long cotton wick for the diya will be brought from Cuttack. “We are sure that this diya will be the largest in the world and will find a place in the Guinness Book of World Records,” Biswal said.The artisans, who started their work in the last week of December, will complete the task by January 15. Once its ready, the lamp will be taken to various educational institutions and different squares from January 17 to make people aware of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.The team of artisans will also prepare an 12ft-high idol of Lord Ram at Bondamunda.