New Hindu temple to be built in Dubai's Jebel Ali area

A new 25,000 sq.ft. multi-faith Hindu temple will be built in Jebel Ali, starting mid-2020. The temple will be an extension of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple in Souq Baniyan, Bur Dubai, announced Raju Shroff, an Indian businessman and one of the trustees of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple.

The new temple will be constructed adjacent to the Guru Nanak Darbar in Jebel Ali, making the locality a multi-religious corridor in Dubai. "Once complete, there will be several churches, the Sikh Guru Nanak Darbar, and a Hindu temple in the same location," explained Shroff. Temple construction is expected to be completed in 2022.

The new temple will be built in addition to the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, which is also expected to be completed in 2022.

Board members of the Sindhi Guru Darbar Temple partook in an auspicious ground-breaking ceremony last week. "The 25,000 sq.ft. temple will be built at an estimated cost of Dh75 million," said Shroff. The building will be a two-storey structure with two basement floors and plenty of parking.

The design for the temple was provided by an Indian architecture company called Temple Architects, specialising in temple design and architecture. The company has designed over 200 temples worldwide. Permissions for the temple's construction have already been received from Dubai's Community Development Authority.

"Currently, we are in the process of getting approvals from Dubai Municipality so we can officially begin construction in March," Shroff added.

Land for the Sindhi Guru Darbar was gifted to the community by the Dubai government 2018. The architectural design work began in June 2018. Shroff said there would be several prayer halls, a room for langar (community kitchen and dining hall), space for large events and community service events, weddings, and condolence meetings in the new temple.

The new temple 'may or may not' replace the existing one in Bur Dubai, according to Shroff. "The current structure is nearly 100 years old and we're facing several challenges with the growing population of visitors to the temple in Bur Dubai. Parking is definitely another challenge. However, we may or may not shift from this facility; this matter will be decided over time," he explained.

The current Hindu temple in Bur Dubai's Al Fahidi neighbourhood was built in 1958 on a piece of land granted by the late Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com