Hindu temple left 'heartbroken' over site's sale

8 hours ago

Shariqua AhmedPeterborough

News image — The Bharat Hindu Samaj is used by worshippers from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire

Ekta Patel Exterior of the temple building with a red door. Bharat Hindu Samaj is written in white at the top of the door entrance and there is an orange flag. — The Bharat Hindu Samaj is used by worshippers from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire

Worshippers at a Hindu temple said they were "heartbroken" to potentially be facing eviction after their second bid to buy the temple's site was unsuccessful.

The Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple in Peterborough, which caters for nearly 14,000 people, was established in the city's New England Complex in 1986.

Peterborough City Council's cabinet met on Tuesday and agreed to sell the site to an undisclosed bidder to help balance its budget.

Ekta Patel, the temple's vice-president, said the community had "left no stones unturned and knocked on all doors to save it" and felt "disgruntled" by the council.

Mohammed Jamil, the authority's cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said: "We fully understand the concerns of the Hindu community and will continue to work with them and the building's other tenants to support anyone affected by this decision."

The authority's cabinet had selected a preferred bidder for the land in December, but met on Tuesday to discuss the sale after the decision was called in last month.

The temple on Rock Road, which is used by worshippers from across Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, had offered the city council 1.3m to buy the site.

Ekta Patel Ekta Patel is sitting down in front of the deities wearing a yellow saree and a pink blouse, with her father in a white shirt (to the left) and mother (right) in a red Indian dress. — Ekta Patel (centre), pictured with her parents, said the temple brought multi-generational families together to celebrate festivals

The temple has been fundraising for several years to buy the site - which also houses six other tenants including the Peterborough Soup Kitchen - and had been in negotiations with the council since 2011.

Patel said Tuesday's decision "was not a decision we were expecting because of the amount of the campaigning and support we have had for our fight".

She added: "It's a very emotional time for us... No words to describe how we truly feel.

"Many of our congregation are in their pension age and worked hard to keep this [site] running all these years. So, it's very hard for them to lose it," she added.

Gauri Chaudhary Gauri Chaudhary smiles at the camera. She has black hair and brown eyes and is wearing gold earrings with green and red stones. — Gauri Chaudhary said the community has had an "outpouring of support from around the country"

Gauri Chaudhary, a temple trustee, said the sale of the temple's site represented far more than a transfer of property.

"It amounts to the displacement of a long-established place of worship built entirely through community effort, offering cultural and spiritual support at no cost to the public purse," she said.

"It's a focal point of culture and spiritual life created entirely through community effort.

"We have made all the efforts to raise that money and have always been willing to buy [the site] – only to be shocked to learn that it is now on the open market."

She added that the community has had "outpouring of support from around the country".

Bharat Hindu Samaj Members of the Hindu congregation standing in prayer. They are facing the priest in a white ceremonial outfit who is sitting next to pictures of Hindu gods. — The temple runs social and educational activities during the week, such as a lunch club and charity outreach work

In a statement, the temple's committee said the impact of the decision would be "immediate and significant" for its congregation and its elderly members were at risk of losing a "crucial lifeline".

It further said the wider Hindu community faced the prospect of being "left without a functional spiritual home anywhere within travelling distance".

Jamil said: "Officers will be shortly issuing communications to all tenants and will welcome meetings to discuss this situation in more detail.

"I will emphasise that the building is being sold with the tenants, we are not seeking vacant possession and the current tenants have rights as per their existing lease."

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