The temple was built by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha and is spread over an area of 27 acres
Abu Dhabi:
Members of the UAE’s Indian community, dressed in traditional attire, expressed joy on Wednesday at attending the inauguration of Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu stone temple, fulfilling their long-held wish.
Wearing a traditional Maharashtrian sari, Moksha Rangnekar led people from her state in dancing towards the temple entrance.
“Our Ganpati now has a temple here. This is like a ganpati mahotsav celebration earlier this year for us. We have been waiting for it for many years,” Rangnekar, who has lived in the UAE for 32 years, told news agency PTI.
For members of the Oriya community, this temple is even more special as it is the first temple in the UAE to house a statue of Jagannath.
“There are temples elsewhere in the UAE, but there is no Jagannath idol there. This is a magical moment for us,” said Kartik Singh, who works for a local oil and gas company.
Women from Bengali families perform ‘dhuni nach’ at the temple entrance.
Engineer Stupta Das told Press Trust of India (PTI), “This is being done as we welcome Ma Durga, today we welcome our deity to what we now call the The land that is home.”
Children from Tamil Nadu also wear traditional mundu clothing.
Barki Gayatri Prakash from Bangalore, who lives in the UAE until 2022, came all the way from India to attend the inauguration ceremony.
“I even laid a brick during the construction and although I have moved back to India now, I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I used to miss going to the temple when I was here,” she told PTI.
Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu temple will be inaugurated later on Wednesday. The dedication ceremony of the statue will begin in the morning and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the dedication ceremony.
The temple was built by BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha on 27 acres of land in Abu Mureikhah, near Al Rahba near the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, at a cost of approximately Rs 7 billion.
“The evening launch ceremony and inauguration of the Mandir temple will be held at 6 pm in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The occasion conveys the message of harmony, love and tolerance to the world. Millions of Indians are Excited about this glorious moment,” a temple spokesman said.
“When Prime Minister Modi visited here in 2015 and 2018 and officially announced the construction of this temple, there was a wave of enthusiasm among around 3.3 million Indians. Notably, the UAE rulers generously donated land for this temple, ” the spokesperson added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
