The only Hindu temple, located in the city of Peterborough in East England, is facing the threat of closure. It has created panic among 13,500 Hindu devotees it serves across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire. The problem is that the Peterborough City Council, which owns the building, has put it up for sale to help pay off its debts.
The Bharat Hindu Samaj Temple was founded back in 1984 by local Hindu families who wanted a place not just for worship, but for community life. Over the years, it has become a vital hub. They organise meals for the elderly twice a week, run workshops on health issues like dementia and diabetes, and offer classes for everything from Bollywood dance and yoga to Hindi and Gujarati. For many older members, it’s a “lifeline” and the main place they get to meet their friends.
The temple community is now in a difficult fight to save its home. According to the temple’s president, Kishor Ladwa, they have been trying to buy the property from the council for the last 14 years. Recently, they thought they had a deal. They put in a bid of £1.3 million, and the council had even offered a £504,000 discount because of the temple’s social value to the community.
But suddenly the situation changed. Mr Ladwa explained that the council suddenly said there were other buyers and that the temple needed to increase its bid. “We have been negotiating to buy the temple for 14 years, but the council keeps shifting its goalposts,” he said, expressing the community’s frustration.
The biggest fear is that if someone else buys the complex, the temple will just be a tenant. “We don’t want to be in a situation where someone can evict us,” said Ekta Patel, the temple’s vice-president.
The community is fighting to save their temple, and petitions with thousands of signatures are being shared to stop the sale. They argue that the services they provide, especially for the elderly, save the council millions of pounds. There is also a deep religious concern, as moving the consecrated idols from the temple would be an incredibly difficult and painful process.
However, the council says its hands are tied. Councillor Mohammed Jamil stated that while they understand the community’s worries, they have a duty to sell assets on the open market to get the best possible value for taxpayers. He assured that if the temple doesn’t win the bid, they would be protected as tenants under the new owner. Still, for the thousands of people who call the temple their spiritual and social home, that provides little comfort as they wait to see who will own their future.
