New Hindu temple to be built in Jebel Ali

The land for the shrine, which will welcome around 1,500 worshippers, was allotted by Dubai Government last year

A groundbreaking ceremony for a new Hindu temple in Jebel Ali is held on Saturday. Courtesy Sindhi Guru Darbar temple trust​​​​​​​

Construction of a Hindu temple in Jebel Ali is due to begin within months, once the design is cleared by Dubai Municipality.

The shrine, spread over two levels and across 2,300 square metres, will accommodate around 1,500 worshippers when it opens in 2022.

"This will be another Hindu temple in the land of tolerance," Raju Shroff, a trustee of the Sindhi Guru Darbar temple that will oversee the construction work, told The National.

“The design is ready and we are completing the final stage of approvals.”

A prayer is made during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Hindu temple in Jebel Ali on Saturday. Courtesy Sindhi Guru Darbar temple trust

The Dubai temple will cost an estimated Dh75 million and will be built in an area adjacent to the existing Sikh gurdwara in Jebel Ali.

The land for the shrine was allotted by the Dubai government last year, Mr Shroff said.

A prayer hall on the upper level will accommodate about 900 worshippers with space for 600 devotees on the ground floor.

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The shrine will include a large kitchen and community halls.

The Sindhi Guru Darbar temple trust that will manage the new place of worship. The trust also runs a Hindu shrine in a building in Bur Dubai.

A groundbreaking ceremony, or bhoomi puja, for the new temple was held on on Saturday when prayers were offered ahead of construction in April.

It will be the second traditional Hindu temple that will be built in the UAE over the next two years.

Work has already begun to build the country’s first traditional stone temple in Abu Dhabi.

The first phase of construction in capital  — including community centres, halls and exhibition spaces in a sprawling complex — is due to be completed in 2020.

Work on the handcrafted marble and sandstone shrine will be completed by 2022.