Northampton's Sikh
community is making the last preparations to move into a new temple in St James
Mill Road.
Northampton's Sikh community is making the
final preparations to welcome its congregation to a 'long-awaited' newly-built
temple when it formally opens next month.
A procession of over 50 cars travelled
through Northampton's streets over the weekend to deliver the holy scriptures -
the Guru Granth Sahib - from the Siri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara temple in St
George's Street to a new home in St James Mill Road.
The temple's congregation have been worshipping in St George's Street
for more than 40 years - but now, after nearly a decade of planning and three
years of construction, then new temple in St James is set to open in August.
The St James Mill Road Gurdwara has been
part-funded by donations from the Sikh community and a loan from Natwest.
Amarjit Singh Atwal, who is one of the
project leaders and trustees, said: "in St George's Street for 40 years
and in the past 10 to 15 years we've struggled to hold larger functions like
weddings and funerals.
The temple's holy
scriptures - the Guru Granth Sahib - moved to the new temple in
a procession .
"The new building is as much as four
or five times larger than what we have now., and will have parking which we
never could have has in St George's Street."It's been a long time coming
but it's something the community has really got behind it.
The new temple will have
room for more than 300 worshippers at a time and will feature a museum,
classrooms and a gym.
Dr.Gurdeep Kaur,Associate Professor,University of Delhi
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