Source: www.mlive.com
KOCHVILLE TWP, MICHIGAN, September 2, 2010: About 300 families in the Great Lakes Bay Region now have a gathering place more than 20 years in the making. On September 12, leaders broke ground and performed an official religious ceremony for the region’s first Hindu temple.
“This fulfills a spiritual need for this community,” Dr. K.P. Karunakaran, chairman of the temple’s executive committee, said. Karunakaran said a call for a Hindu temple for Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties began 20 to 25 years ago by members of the Hindu community, most of whom moved to the region from India. With the nearest Hindu temple, the Paschima Kasi Sri Vishwanatha Temple, in Flint, local Hindu families organized gatherings of 150 to 200 people in their homes, said Dr. Anirudha Bhandiwad, chairman of the temple’s events committee.
Organizers will not make final plans on the new temple until later but are looking to construct the 10,000- to 12,000-square-foot temple in several phases within the next three to five years at a cost of about $2.5 million collected through individual donations. The new temple is expected to accommodate 250 to 300 people.