In exciting news for Hindus that has emerged from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the foundation work of the UAE’s first traditional Hindu temple will be completed by next month in Abu Dhabi, reports Swarajya.
The foundation was laid in 2019 and the temple is expected to be completed in 2023.
The temple complex will have several shrines dedicated to Hindu gods. It will also have a visitor’s centre, prayer halls, library, classroom, community centre, amphitheater, play areas, gardens, books and gift shops, food court and other facilities.
As per news reports published in the Khaleej Times, foundation work is in the final stage, rising to a height of 4.5 metres from the ground level. The installation of pink sandstones and marbles will start from May.
“I am monitoring the quality and progress of this project. I feel very blessed to be a part of this project. This is a one-time opportunity,” said project engineer Ashok Kondeti.
“From January we have poured concrete of around 4,500 cubic metres and backfilling with 3,000 cubic metres. We have observed that the concrete is gaining strength. This is a good thing for this project. We are doing the backfilling layer by layer with sand available on site and there is no need to import the material from outside,” he said.
“In this foundation, we have two tunnels. For the tunnels, stones have been received from India and we will start the placing by next week. We can complete the total foundation work by the end of April. So, we can start the actual stonework in the month of May, he added.
Also, a significant portion of the stonework has been done in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat by more than 2,000 sculptors which will be shipped and assembled over the foundation in Abu Dhabi.
The stoneworks will showcase Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, scriptures and ancient stories from India. The temple will be built according to the ancient Hindu ‘shilpa shastras’ – Sanskrit texts on architecture.
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