Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai flagged off 11 trucks carrying the rice consignment by waving a saffron flag during a function held here at Shri Ram Mandir on VIP Road, said a statement by the state's public relations department.

The function, titled ‘Sughandit Chawal Arpan Samaroh’ (aromatic rice offering ceremony), was held by the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Rice Millers Association, which has offered the rice to be used as "prasad in the consecration ceremony of Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya”, it said. State ministers Brijmohan Agrawal, Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, Dayaldas Baghel and Laxmi Rajwade, BJP MP Sunil Soni and office-bearers of the association were also present during the flag-off.

On the occasion, the CM and his cabinet colleagues offered prayers at the temple and wished for the happiness and prosperity of the state, it said. Chhattisgarh, known as a ‘rice bowl’, is considered Lord Ram’s ‘nanihal’ (the place of maternal grandparents).

According to research scholars, Lord Ram had passed through several places in present-day Chhattisgarh during his 14-year exile from Ayodhya. Chandkhuri, a village located around 27 km from the capital Raipur, is considered the birthplace of Mata Kaushalya, the mother of Lord Ram. The ancient Mata Kaushalya temple situated in the village was given a facelift during the previous Congress government in the state.