Gaya, March 1: Abhay Kumar, the village head of Kujapi panchayat under Chandauti block of the district, is building a temple dedicated to the Sun god and a ghat to ensure that devotees do not have to travel far to observe Chhath.

At a time when many village heads across the state are facing corruption charges, Abhay has sold his ancestral property to build the temple.

The shrine at Kujapi village on Jharia Baar-Kujapi-Neyazipur road is being constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 50 lakh. No government fund is used in the construction of the temple with Abhay arranging all necessary investments. The temple will be around 3km from the Gaya railway station.

Abhay has planned to perform the praan pratishtha (a ritual to infuse life in an idol) of the Sun God on Chaiti Chhath in the last week of March.

He told The Telegraph: “The area of the premises is 2,200sqft, of which 144sqft has been earmarked for installation of the deity. The height of the temple would be around 35ft. The 5ft-tall black stone statue of the deity, costing around Rs 2.4 lakh, will be imported from Jaipur. Tiles and marbles, too, have been imported from Jaipur.”

A ghat of around 44,000sqft is also being constructed. The length and width of the ghat would be around 350ft and 125ft respectively. According to Abhay, during Chhath, devotees would be able to offer arghya to the Sun God. Water will be filled in the ghat by using borewell during the festival. Abhay hopes this temple will become as famous as the one at Deo in Aurangabad.

Driven by passion to build the temple, Abhay sold one of his houses for Rs 7 lakh. Even his father, Rambriksha Prasad, donates money from his pension. Rambriksha is a retired teacher of a government middle school in Bodhgaya.

Abhay has also decided to donate 1.5 cottah of land for the Jaggu Lal Mehta High School in his village. “The land will be registered in the name of the Bihar governor,” he said. A marriage hall measuring 750sqft is also being constructed on the premises.