Bhutan: Indian firm takes over construction of Hindu temple

An Indian infrastructure firm took over the construction of a much-delayed Durga temple in Bhutan after the project was hit by flaws in its design. It also had disagreement among members of a Hindu body governing the temple, according to a media report.

The construction work of the temple at Kuensel Phodrang in Thimphu began in 2012 and was scheduled to be completed in 2014, but the project got delayed as its design had some flaws and also there was disagreement among Hindu Dharma Samudaya of Bhutan (HDSB) members, Kuensel Online reported.

Following a directive from the government, Jaiprakash Associates Limited (JAL) has now taken over the construction of the temple and it will be completed by June 2018, it said. After terminating the earlier contract, JAL was given the work to improve the architectural design of the temple since the earlier designs and constructions had some flaws.

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JAL volunteered to construct the temple with its own fund, the report said. “Work is in full swing and going on smoothly. The company will spend about Nu 40M for the construction,” said JAL civil engineer and deputy general manager Ajay Pant.

“We had to dismantle almost all the old structures, both inside and outside, because of poorly designed structures and quality,” Pant said. “We had to remove materials, including all the statues, which were made of fiberglass and metal,” he said.

Pant said statues of god or goddesses in the Hindu temples should be carved on the stone. The plan now is to bring statues and other materials related to the temple from Chennai, he said. The temple’s main statue will be Durga.

The temple with a main shrine, a prayer hall and library will be the place of Durga puja celebration. Citing sources, the news portal said the construction was delayed because of the disagreement among HDSB members.

Other factors such as delay in the tender awarding process, import of some raw materials, delay in budget release and complaints of poor quality construction and statues also led to the project?s delay, it said.

The HDSB’s project manager, J N Sharma, said the HDSB had already constructed the main block, living quarters for the priest and caretaker, toilets and bought about 10 fiberglass statues.

“We may have to use all these statues in other temples,” he said. The government had allocated Nu 65M for the construction of the temple. Once completed, JAL will hand over the temple to the HDSB.

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