Ambitious plans for £15m gurdwara in town revealed - Interesting development in Slough

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Ambitious plans for £15m gurdwara in town revealed

New Sikh group announce grand plans for gurdwara for 'future generations'

AMBITIOUS plans to plough £15m into building a new gurdwara to 'cater for future generations' as a one-stop shop for Sikh education have been revealed.

The Slough Sikh Sangat Trust (SSST) held its first meeting this week.

The group announced its grand plan to build an 'inclusive' gurdwara and education and media complex that aims to attract Sikhs from across Slough and surrounding areas.

The trust said the current two gurdwaras, in Sheehy Way and Woodlands Avenue, do not have a 'vision and strategy' to cope with the additional needs and number of affluent Sikhs in the area.

The gurdwara would be fitted out with the latest technology and facilities, a large lecture theatre and seminar rooms for the community and include a large car park.

The trust is confident of securing the backing of more than 100 'affluent' Sikh families to throw £10,000 into the pot, with a further 10 families stumping up £100,000.

The spokesperson said: "These initial donations of £2m will show we are extremely serious and allow the blue print we have in mind for this new complex to take shape."

- Pick up a copy of Friday's Slough Observer for the full story

http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/slough/articles/2012/10/31/63975-ambitious-plans-for-15m-gurdwara-in-town-revealed/

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Could someone from Slough scan Friday's edition of the Slough Observer and put the full story online.

The Slough Express has teh following short story online:

Sikh community make plans to build £15m gurdwara in Slough

Worshippers at a festival at the Sikh Temple in Sheehy Way.

The Sikh community in Slough are in the process of making plans to build a new Sikh gurdwara worth £15m.

Slough has two Sikh temples which are known as gurdwaras. Ramgarhia Gurdwara is in Woodland Avenue and Singh Sabha Slough is in Sheehy Way.

At a meeting held last week, the Slough Sikh Sangat Trust (SSST) held its first official meeting and have put forward proposals to build a modern gurdwara and education/media complex.

The centre will include the latest technology and facilities to cater for a larger congregation, with sufficient car parking, a large lecture theatre and seminar rooms for Sikh education.

A number of Sikhs living just outside of Slough travel to places of worship in Southall and Hounslow, with the Sheehy Way gurdwara only allowing membership for people living in the borough.

A SSST spokesman said: "We are extremely confident for getting the backing of over 100 Sikh families living in and around Slough who will each put up £10,000 and a further 10 families who will each put up £100,000.

"These initial donations of £2m will show we are extremely serious and allow the blue print we have in mind for this new complex to take shape."

The Trust is in contact with a number of property developers to draw up a shortlist of suitable sites which will be finalised in the next three months.

http://www.sloughexpress.co.uk/News/All-Areas/Slough/Sikh-community-make-plans-to-build-15m-gurdwara-in-Slough-31102012.htm

[Not2Cool2Argue]

I wish ppl would realize building buildings and bigger and more expensive ones is not the answer. Wasn't there recently a $5 million annex just opened as well, in the UK? Instead the money should be used for parchaar, camps, scholarships, and donations.

[singh135]

Are they trying to beat Gravesend's new amzing Gurudwara?

theres a saying in punjab, roughly translated it says this "In the past the Singhs used to be strongly built and the Gurudwaras weakily built, these days the Gurudwaras are strongly built but the Singhs weakily built"

[HSD2]

I wish ppl would realize building buildings and bigger and more expensive ones is not the answer. Wasn't there recently a $5 million annex just opened as well, in the UK? Instead the money should be used for parchaar, camps, scholarships, and donations.

Did you actually read the article? This is what they are intending to do in time. Rather than whinging why dont you earn some money and then spend it on doing what you want at the pace you wish?

[VanHelsingh]

^^^^ A member of the SSST no doubt! :biggrin2:

[West London Singh]

Hang on....am I reading this right ? The article (which is rather ambigious) seems to be suggesting that the Singh Sabha Gurdwara and the Ramgharia Gurdwara are getting together to build one better gurdwara. If this is the case then this Jatts and Tarkhans coming together in the name of Sikhi would be a wonderful thing and a great step forward.

But.....I'm none the wiser even after reading the news article several times. Is this what is being proposed ?

Hang on....am I reading this right ? The article (which is rather ambigious) seems to be suggesting that the Singh Sabha Gurdwara and the Ramgharia Gurdwara are getting together to build one better gurdwara. If this is the case then this Jatts and Tarkhans coming together in the name of Sikhi would be a wonderful thing and a great step forward.

But.....I'm none the wiser even after reading the news article several times. Is this what is being proposed ?

[DailyMail]

I read it and thought it was an additional gurdwara rather then an amalgamation of the current two.

[HSD2]

^^^^ A member of the SSST no doubt! :biggrin2:

I know nothing!

Hang on....am I reading this right ? The article (which is rather ambigious) seems to be suggesting that the Singh Sabha Gurdwara and the Ramgharia Gurdwara are getting together to build one better gurdwara. If this is the case then this Jatts and Tarkhans coming together in the name of Sikhi would be a wonderful thing and a great step forward.

But.....I'm none the wiser even after reading the news article several times. Is this what is being proposed ?

This is just in the initial stages. Slough/East Berkshire really does need a bigger gurudwara. The Ramgarhia Gurudwara is small and doesnt have room to expand. The Jatt Gurudwara has problems with its committee and takes decades to do anything. Having said that I dont think this will be built. The local media always start shouting from the rooftops everytime Sikhs do something and the whites and paks come out in force to oppose it (like the Lea Sikh School). When the Saudis built a Wahhabi school, no one says anything.

The only way this would change if more Sikhs moved to the area.

[HSD2]

http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/slough/articles/2012/11/22/64576-sikh-temple-presidents-slam-plans-for-a-new-gurdwara-for-future-generations-in-the-town/

Uh oh looks like some elders dont like the Sikh youth getting new facilities. And they wonder why so many young people no longer give money when they go to the Gurudwara.