Source: news.stv.tv
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, May 30, 2010: A Hindu temple may be shut for months after being badly damaged by fire. The blaze at the temple, in the west end of Glasgow, broke out at around 10pm on Saturday. At its peak, 40 firefighters were involved in battling the fire, at the Hindu Cultural Centre on La Belle Place.
The center’s prayer room was worst affected by the blaze. Vinod Sharma, the centre’s secretary, was able to see inside the damaged building on Sunday morning. “The damage is extensive. The building is badly damaged inside. You can see the bones of the structure in the main hall – the main prayer room. It’s going to be out of use for two to three months at least,” he said.
“Our priest used to live here,” said Surinder Bali, vice-president of the center. “It’s lucky he was not here, his family was not here, and nobody was hurt. “But this will have a great impact on the whole community because they can’t go anywhere else and we have to think about what we can do for the community. As well as Glasgow, people come from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, everywhere, to come here because there are only two priests in the whole of Scotland and they perform the ceremonies.”