Hindu community reacts to temple site sale plan

Ashish Pathak and Meera Mavani volunteer at the Hindu temple, close to Lincoln Road in Peterborough

As Diwali passes for another year, the celebrations in Peterborough have been overshadowed by the Hindu community's fight to secure the future of their temple. What has been the reaction?

The Bharat Hindu Samaj caters for nearly 14,000 people in the region, but the city council is looking to sell the complex the temple is in as part of efforts to reduce debts by selling assets.

Worshippers have been fundraising for a number of years to buy the site outright, but they now face an anxious wait to see whether their bid has been successful, after it was put on the open market for community use.

'Very hurt'

Ekta Patel (centre), pictured with her parents, said the temple brought multi-generational families together to celebrate festivals

Ekta Patel, the temple's vice-president, says it has been "a very emotional time".

A petition calling for the site to be saved has received thousands of signatures.

She says it has been "comforting" to receive "overwhelming support from across the country", but adds the community feels "very hurt".

Ms Patel says committee members were informed of the decision to offload the building in September, during the previous Navratri festivities.

"It's like a carpet pulled off our feet. Our festival was overshadowed by these worries," she says.

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

"We support people immigrating from India who would not have anyone to turn to otherwise, help the elderly beat isolation through events and lunch clubs, and also ensure young people learn about their culture and heritage. We put so much back into the city's communities.

"Our deities are not just idols. We pray to them every day, clean them and offer food to them. We can't just uproot them... it's inhumane, I feel."

'Unjust'

Mina Tank is head chef at the lunch club and says the temple is the "heart of our community"

Mina Tank helps run the lunch club at the temple, which feeds about 60 people each seating.

"It is very important for us. It's the heart of our community. And to take our heart away is very unjust," she says.

Another volunteer at the temple, Meera Mavani, says people who have spent years keeping the site going "are in tears and very disheartened".

The temple and its voluntary-run community activities help people beat isolation

'We feel betrayed'

Ashish Pathak, originally from the Indian city of Mumbai, moved to Peterborough about 10 years ago.

He says the temple "has served as a welcoming safe space" for immigrant families, like his.

"We feel betrayed," he says.

"There's no value for the feelings of the community, for the spiritual existence, value for the place, for the relationships that were built.

"For us it is a home. It is a place where we can be ourselves, can dress like how we want to without judgement, can enjoy traditional food, we can sing the prayers in a comfortable environment.

"We cannot imagine losing this."

'Working with the community'

Labour councillor Mohammed Jamil says the local authority is working with the Hindu community to secure a home

Mohammed Jamil, cabinet member for finance at Labour-led Peterborough City Council, says the Bharat Hindu Samaj is a "crucial part of our city" and "we very much want it to stay within our city, and are actively working with the community to assist in ensuring it continues to do so".

He says "no decisions have been made yet", and will not be until a cabinet meeting next year.

"If the Bharat Hindu Samaj is not the successful bidder, the council is committed to working with the community to assist in finding another home within our city.

"We have a duty to Peterborough taxpayers to ensure we achieve the best value for money on any public assets we sell.

"We regret that this is an unsettling time for the Bharat Hindu Samaj and we are doing all we can to support them through this process."