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Bedford skyline
changes this Vaisakhi with £ 4 million
new gurdwara
WSN
Network
BEDFORD: Less than a week before
the Vaisakhi festival and after five years of planning and three
years of building, the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Ford End Road, Queens
Park, is now open. Bedford's skyline has been changed beyond
recognition with this new £ 4 million Sikh gurdwara.
"We are incredibly proud of this beautiful and unique Gurdwara – the
first built in England in the traditional Sikh style," Amrik Singh
Jammu, general secretary of the project, said, adding, "We aim to
give people in the West and young Sikhs an experience of Sikh
cultural heritage and hopefully it will encourage people to visit
India and see more."
The new gurdwara premises can accommodate 600 devotees. Clad on the
outside with granite and marble imported from western India, the
gurdwara construction also saw labour being employed from India,
among them 20 stone masons who worked for a year and a half crafting
the stunning exterior, the website lutontoday.co.uk has reported.
The Gurdwara is part of a 2.5-acre complex, complete with community
centre and kitchens which can cater for up to 500 for celebrations
such as weddings. There is also off-road parking for more than 100
vehicles.
Donations, a loan and £1.33m of lottery funding, under its ethnic
minority initiative, have funded the £4m building. It was the only
Sikh project to be awarded any money by the Millenium Commission.
Jammu said, "I would like to say a special thanks to Tom Wells,
chairman of Charles Wells. They sold us 1.25 acres at a very
reasonable rate because they were keen to see the land used for the
benefit of the community rather than leave it as waste." Organiser
Avtar Singh Mutti is keen for the entire community – not just for
Bedford's 6,000 Sikhs – to celebrate the Gurdwara's opening.
11 April,
2007
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