Thiruvananthapuram: The city of Brampton in the state of Ontario in Canada has issued building permit to the Malayali community there for the construction of Guruvayurappan Temple. The construction will begin in early October.
The community has reportedly raised about $1.8 million and was seeking more donations for the temple. The temple trust called the process of receiving sanction as a long and difficult task.
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, told Deccan Chronicle that the proposed temple would be built in accordance with ancient Hindu Shilpa and Agama shastras.
There are also plans to accommodate Sree Kovils for Guruvayurappan, Ganapathy, Sastha and Devi . The history of the temple goes back to mid 1990s.
The temple now opens everyday at its current temporary location. Various are being performed, with a wedding costing $501, Sarpa Bali $301 and Vahana (vehicle) Pooja $51, Mr Zed said.
It has minted a gold-plated medallion carrying the image of Lord Guruvayurappan and is selling it at $1,000 each to raise funds. The trust has started accepting booking for Udayasthamana Pooja, costing $5,000 each, which will start once the temple is completed, Mr Zed said.
Dr P. Karunakaran Kutty is the president of the temple trust. Gopinathan Menon, R. K. Padiyath, T.A. Viswanathan and Appukuttan Nair are vice-president, executive director, assistant executive director and manager, respectively, of the trust. Divakaran Namboothiri is the chief priest and Thantri.
Brampton, famous as the Flower City, which has a history dating back to 1853, is the eleventh largest city in Canada. Punjabi is the mother tongue of about 28 per cent of its residents.
