By Asia Samachar | Britain |
The spanking new Leicester gurdwara is up and running. On June 30, the local Sikhs brought the Guru Granth Sahib from the old gurdwara in Meynell Road to the new complex in Hamilton.
This was a momentous event for Sikhs in Leicester and its surrounding area, with the local team working on the project for the last one decade. They had been operating from Meynell Road since 1972, but the increasing Sikh population demanded a larger place.
The Ramgarhia Board Leicester & Leicestershire, which runs the gurdwara, bought a piece of land in Hamilton in 2015. And one decade later, they have managed to put up the new gurdwara complex on a 2.8 acre site, costing some some £4.6 million.
“The old Gurdwara was a heavy vehicle garage that had been converted into a temple. For 51 years we lived there, but with the congregation increasing, that place was not suitable because of the lack of space, facilities and car park space – so we decided that we needed to move,” gurdwara committee president Inderjit Singh Panesar said told the Leicester Mercury.
The development was carried out by the trustees of the Ramgarhia Board Leicester (RBL) who borrowed £2.1 million to part-fund the new building. It committed £800,000 of its own money, and the rest was donated by members of the Sikh community, it reported.
The new site’s car park is currently under construction, but once complete, will have up to 150 car park spaces, coach parking and cycle racks. The previous temple had one main worship hall, whereas the new site has two worship halls, one which can hold up to 600 people and the other which accommodates 300.
Both halls contain seats at the back for elderly worshippers, and those unable to sit on the floor due to disabilities, as well as a lift that travels between all floors. There are also purpose-built classrooms for children to learn Punjabi, and a creche for new mothers to bring their children to be supervised by a qualified childminder.
The building also contains a library which stores the holy scriptures and historical books.The Langar hall which is used for dining also seats up to 600 people, and will be used for daily meals, as well as special events such as weddings, the report added.
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