Guidelines for visiting Abu Dhabi’s iconic Hindu temple as its doors open to all

News Network
March 1, 2024

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Abu Dhabi: The first Hindu stone temple in Abu Dhabi is opening its doors to all from today, March 1. Here are the rules for visitors – what is not allowed in the temple and when it is closed for visit.

The BAPS Hindu Mandir, the Middle East’s biggest and first traditional stone temple, was officially inaugurated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14.

UAE residents had been urged to visit the temple from March 1 with pre-registration on a dedicated website and app. This was due to specially-themed events that were lined up on the days following the inauguration and a huge number of international visitors who had already registered to visit the temple during that time.

No more registration required

The management of the temple under the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) – a spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship that has built over 1,100 temples across the world, revealed that no more registration is required for UAE residents to visit the temple.

“The UAE residents do not need to register to visit the mandir,” the management stated. It also revealed the mandir will be open only six days a week for visitors of all faiths.

“The Mandir will be closed on Mondays. The opening hours from Tuesday to Sunday are from 9am to 8pm.”

What is not allowed

The management also spelt out the things that are not allowed inside the temple.

No bags are allowed as there are no cloakrooms available, it said. Visitors are not allowed to carry food or drinks either. Photography inside the main mandir has also been banned to help maintain its spiritual environment, the management stated.

It said tens of thousands of people have already visited the temple.

“We have observed that thousands of people from wide ranging faiths are visiting daily and over 40,000 on the weekend. There are many facilities for visitors to enjoy, like the Orchard restaurant built entirely from recycled material and providing vegetarian meals and refreshments,” it added.

Festival of Harmony

Earlier on Sunday, more than 1,100 people took part in the ‘Palkhi Yatra’ – a grand procession of community members celebrating the cultural diversity at the temple.

Indian expat devotees representing north, south, east, west and central India participated in the procession wearing their traditional Indian attire and performing traditional devotional music and singing. It was the first time that such a pan-Indian procession had taken place.

The colourful procession marked the conclusion of the “Festival of Harmony,” a series of cultural and religious events held to celebrate the opening of the temple.

During the festival, the temple organised various events on different days dedicated to harmony, civilisation, peace and inspiration.

Various religious leaders, intellectuals and a lineup of eminent personalities from several walks of life attended.

Day of Inspiration

The ‘Day of Inspiration’ celebrated the pivotal role of women in uplifting society and their invaluable contributions to humanity. Organised and delivered by the women’s wing of the BAPS Hindu Mandir, more than 2,000 women of all ages attended and benefited from this special assembly.

Alongside the Festival of Harmony, BAPS Hindu Mandir also organised a blood donation drive in partnership with Aster Clinic with the participation of more than 500 visitors.

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News Network
November 7,2024

Udupi, Nov 7: In a tragic turn of events, a young woman, Prasanna, aged 29, allegedly died by suicide on Wednesday, struggling to cope with the demands of work and motherhood after the birth of her daughter, according to police reports.

Prasanna had married on December 2, 2022, and was the mother of a 10-month-old baby girl. Her husband works in Bengaluru, while she lived with her in-laws, who, according to her family, treated her kindly.

In a complaint, Prasanna's mother revealed that her daughter often called her, expressing deep concerns over her readiness for motherhood. Despite receiving supportive care from her family, Prasanna felt unprepared and overwhelmed by the balance of work and home life that early motherhood required.

Her family shared that she had been undergoing treatment, but between 10 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, she allegedly took her own life at her husband’s residence. The Karkala Rural Police Station has registered a case and is conducting further investigations.

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News Network
November 21,2024

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant over war crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It is the first instance in the court's 22-year history it has issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction. 

The chamber said it has decided to release the arrest warrants because "conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing", referring to Israel's ongoing onslaught on Gaza.

Netanyahu and Gallant, it said, “each bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as well as “intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population.”

All 124 states that signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court, are now under an obligation to arrest the wanted individuals and hand them over to the ICC in the Hague. 

The court relies on the cooperation of member states to arrest and surrender suspects. The Netherlands' foreign minister quickly said his country was prepared to enforce the warrants while 93 nations earlier reiterated their support for the ICC.

Triestino Mariniello, a lawyer representing Palestinian victims at the ICC, called the warrants "a historic decision".

He noted that the court had endured "pressure and threats of sanctions" from the US government, but acted nonetheless.

As expected, the Tel Aviv regime rejected the rulings, with its security minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling the warrants “anti-Semitic through and through.”

The ICC said Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court. 

Israel unleashed its bloody Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023. So far, it has killed at least 43,985 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 104,092 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel faces an ongoing South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

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News Network
November 14,2024

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday backed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his claim that the BJP had offered Rs 50 crore each to 50 Congress MLAs in an attempt to "topple" the state government.

Addressing reporters here, Shivakumar, also the Congress state president, said, “The BJP indeed lured 50 Congress MLAs with Rs 50 crore each.”

He defended Siddaramaiah’s statement and said the Congress MLAs were briefed about the BJP’s alleged 'Operation Lotus', a term used to describe the BJP's attempts to destabilise ruling governments through horse-trading.

“Some of our MLAs informed the Chief Minister about this matter, and he, in turn, shared it with the media,” Shivakumar said.

At an event in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah reiterated the claim that "none of the Congress MLAs had accepted the offer".

He also accused the BJP of filing false cases against him in a bid to "remove him and overthrow his government".

The BJP has yet to respond to the allegations.

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