New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday inaugurated the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, which is also the largest in the Gulf region.
Modi was greeted by religious leaders as he arrived at the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Hindu Mandir in the evening. He touched the feet of the temple’s spiritual leader Mahant Swamimaharaj.
As part of the rituals Modi performed to inaugurate the temple, the Prime Minister offered water in the virtual Ganga-Yamuna River at the temple.
He then participated in an aarti, which was performed simultaneously at over 1,200 BAPS temples worldwide.
Using 18 lakh bricks, seven lakh man hours and 1.8 lakh cubic metres of sandstone sent directly from Rajasthan, Abu Dhabi’s first Hindu stone temple has been made in the Nagara style, like the recently inaugurated Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The temple has been built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha on a 27-acre site in Abu Mreikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, at an estimated cost of around Rs 700 crore.
The BAPS Hindu Mandir also has over 300 high-tech sensors to measure temperature and monitor seismic activity, but no metal has been used in the construction of the temple. Its foundation is filled with fly ash.
Swami Brahmaviharidas, head of international relations for BAPS, told news agency PTI that the sensors installed at every level of the temple would provide live data for research. “If there is any earthquake in the region, the temple will detect it, and we will be able to study it,” he said.
The temple’s construction manager Madhusudan Patel told the agency that they had used heat-resistant nano tiles and heavy glass panels, merging both traditional aesthetic stone structures with modern-day functionality. “Considering the extreme temperatures in the UAE, the tiles will be comfortable for visitors to walk even in hot weather. Non-ferrous material has also been used in the temple,” he said.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan donated 13.5 acres of land for the construction of the temple in 2015. Modi laid the foundation three years later, and construction began in 2019 after an additional 13.5 acres of land was donated earlier that year.
Modi, who is on a two-day tour of the UAE, thanked the UAE President Tuesday for his support and his graciousness in granting the land for the construction of the Hindu temple.
In his opening remarks at an event to address the diaspora, Modi said the Abu Dhabi temple was an example of Al Nahyahn’s “affinity towards India and his vision for the UAE’s bright future”.
The UAE has three other Hindu temples that are located in Dubai.
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