Hindu temple to reopen after 10-week revamp

Vounteers have done much of the renovation work themselves

A Hindu temple in Loughborough is set to reopen after volunteers helped with a 10-week revamp.

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Moira Street, is to reopen its doors to worshippers on Sunday.

Temple officials said the work, paid for through donations and fundraising events, had made the building "brighter and more inspiring than ever".

Lead volunteer Vinay Sutaria said: "The temple is a second home to many people so it's great to have had so many volunteers helping with the project."

He added: "Now we have a couple of classrooms for children to split up and have activities and classrooms for the youth to have activities.

"It's not just a place of sanctuary for the elderly but it's a place where the young, the children, the youth can come together and engage in activities.

"They can take part in classes, learn cultural classics, music and dance, and Hindu values.

"It's more than a home renovation. To turn around an entire temple in 10 weeks is amazing."

Mr Sutaria said the reopening would be celebrated with a procession around nearby streets on Saturday morning.

A private consecration of the temple will take place on Sunday, he said, followed by the reopening on Sunday afternoon.