PM Modi inaugurates first Hindu stone temple in UAE's Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated Abu Dhabis first Hindu stone temple amid devotional chants and in the presence of spiritual leaders of the Swaminarayan sectDressed in a light pink silk dhoti and kurta paired with a sleeveless jacket and stole the prime minister participated in rituals of a ceremony to dedicate the temple to the peopleThe prime minister also participated in Global Aarti which was performed simultaneously at over 1200 temples of the Swaminarayan sect worldwide built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha BAPSEarlier Modi met people from different faiths who contributed to the construction of the first Hindu stone temple hereThe prime minister also offered water in the virtual Ganga and Yamuna rivers at the temple before proceeding to inaugurate the temple built on a 27acre site in Abu Mreikhah near Al Rahba off the DubaiAbu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway at a cost of around Rs 700 croreAccording to the temple authorities the grand temple has been built as per an ancient style of construction and creation mentioned in the Shilpa and Sthapathya Shastras Hindu scriptures which describe the art for mandir design and constructionThe architectural methods have been clubbed with scientific techniques here Over 300 hightech sensors have been installed at every level of the temple to measure temperature pressure and movement seismic activity The sensors will 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 Swami Brahmaviharidas head of international relations for BAPS told PTINo metal has been used in the construction of the temple and fly ash has been used to fill up the foundation replacing 55 per cent of cement in the concrete mix reducing the carbon footprint of the templeMadhusudan Patel the temples construction manager told PTI We have used heatresistant nano tiles and heavy glass panels merging both traditional aesthetic stone structures with modernday functionality Considering the extreme temperatures in the UAE the tiles will be comfortable for visitors to walk even in hot weather Nonferrous material has also been used in the templeConstructed with 18 lakh bricks seven lakh man hours and 18 lakh cubic metres of sandstone sourced directly from Rajasthan Abu Dhabis first Hindu temple has been made in the Nagara style of architecture just like the recently inaugurated Ram Temple in AyodhyaAccording to Umesh Raja a volunteer at the temple 20000 tonnes of sandstone pieces were carved in Rajasthan and then shipped to Abu Dhabi in 700 containersNot just the stone many labourers who helped construct the temple over five years belong to Gujarat and Rajasthan Even the marble mined from Italy was first shipped to India for carving and then back to the UAE to be used in the interiors he saidThe work for the structure has been going on since 2019 The land for the temple was donated by the UAE government The UAE has three other Hindu temples that are located in Dubai The BAPS temple spread over a large area with stone architecture will be the largest of all in the Gulf regionPrime Minister Modi is in the UAE on a twoday visit his seventh visit to the Emirates since 2015 and his third in the last eight monthsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever