Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi gears up for ‘tens of thousands’ of visitors in Eid holiday rush

More than 30,000 people are expected to visit the landmark Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi daily during the Eid Al Fitr break, and authorities are working with the police to manage the crowds.

Additional parking has been opened at the hand-carved sandstone temple, a popular destination for tourists, families and groups of workers from across the Emirates, in anticipation of the holiday period.

Abu Dhabi Police along with officials from the Baps Hindu Mandir have issued guidelines cautioning visitors to register in advance and to arrive at the time slot booked. The Baps Swaminarayan Sanstha, the organisation that built and manages the temple, have warned those who do not book online will not be able to enter.

“We are expecting 25,000 to 30,000 visitors a day but it could be more so we have worked with government entities and the Abu Dhabi Police to extend parking in the mandir (temple) area," Pranav Desai, director of the Baps Hindu Mandir told The National.

“We are ready to manage more than 40,000 a day and want to remind visitors that they must register online to be able to enter the temple. No walk-ins will be allowed. "Online bookings will help us space out the visits so people have time to pray. We want to make sure their visit is comfortable and safety is maintained.”

Visitor attraction

The Middle East's first fully handcrafted traditional stone and marble Hindu temple is popular with residents and travellers and has attracted more than 2.2 million visitors since it was inaugurated last year.

Between 15,000 to 18,000 people a day typically visit the temple over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands of worshippers lined up during the Diwali festival celebrations last October to pray before elaborately sculpted Hindu deities.

The stream of visitors took organisers by surprise in the initial days of the temple opening last year as it was followed by a week-long Eid Al Fitr break. The Abu Dhabi Police helped manage the flow of traffic on the first Sunday, March 3, as more than 65,000 people turned up when the temple opened up to the public after its inauguration.

An online booking system was then set up to manage the demand with organisers warning that registration was required to cater to the numbers.

“We are also asking people to come within the time slot they have booked so that it is a smooth experience for all and we can ensure crowd management,” Mr Desai said. “We expect the numbers to rise from this Saturday itself as there are visitors from outside the UAE coming in for Eid apart from people travelling to Abu Dhabi from other Emirates.”

First hand-carved temple

More shaded areas have been added, particularly in the parking bays where people often congregate as they wait for friends and family before entering the temple, which is located in Abu Dhabi’s Abu Mureikhah Cultural District off the main Sheikh Zayed Road linking the emirate to Dubai. It was built on land granted to the Indian community in 2015 by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed when he was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Exquisite carvings in marble and pink sandstone were hand-sculpted by more than 2,000 artisans in India over a five-year period and shipped to the UAE. The temple is open to people of all faiths and also hosts interfaith events, dialogues and celebrations. The temple is open for visits and worship from 9am until 8pm daily and is shut on Mondays. Guidelines for visitors and booking details are available on: https://www.mandir.ae/visit

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