A 92-year-old gurdwara in Canada, which has been put on sale by a bank, has raised the hackles of Sikh organisations in Punjab who have called for efforts to save the place of worship.
The gurdwara at Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island was built in 1917 and is being put up on sale following a court order. The religious place and adjoining land is on sale for $1.65 million (Rs 8.3 crore) after a failed business venture.
The Canadian town in British Columbia's lumber country is named after its founder Mayo Singh's native village of the same name in Punjab's Hoshiarpur. On sale: The gurdwara at Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island was built in 1917 and is being put up on sale following a court order
On sale: The gurdwara at Paldi near Duncan on Vancouver Island was built in 1917
and is being put up on sale following a court order
Mayo Singh had immigrated to the US (San Francisco) in 1906 and had later moved to the Vancouver Island where he set up the Mayo Lumber Company and founded the town and named it Paldi. Satbir Singh, a businessman from Paldi village in Punjab, said they were making attempts to ensure that the sale of the gurdwara was prevented.
'We have had discussion with our fellow residents to support the Sikhs in British Columbia attempting to save the Sikh religious place,' he said. Satbir said the Sikh organisations of Lower Mainland held a meeting in Surrey last week to arrive at a solution.
The Sikhs all across British Columbia were banding together to save the historic religious site. Jai Gopal, another native of the area said over the phone that the town in Canada was a testimony to the entrepreneurship and resilience of a Sikh, who had immigrated from Paldi.
'The shrine on his land must be saved from being sold since the sentiments of the community are attached to it. People are planning to approach the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) for help,' Gopal added.
Though the SGPC president was not available for comments, an official said the issue relates to the entire community. 'We will being the matter to the notice of the president and request him to intervene and save the shrine,' the official said.
Those close to the town's founder Mayo Singh's family revealed that the gurdwara still had a priest and many Sikh families scattered in the Cowichan Valley hold religious ceremonies and functions at the Paldi gurdwara.
Singh's family members were also making efforts to save the shrine