KARACHI: The Sindh Asse­mbly was informed on Monday that the historic Hindu temple on Sadhu Bela island in the middle of the Indus River in Sukkur needed repair and renovation, but the task remained incomplete due to an objection of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB).

While furnishing a statement and answering the queries of the lawmakers during Question Hour session in the provincial assembly, Minister for Minority Affairs Hari Ram said the temple, built in 1823, was not in dilapidated condition, but it needed some repair and addition of new buildings for Hindu pilgrims and other visitors.

He said the provincial government had approved a project amounting to Rs1,369.928 million and some work was carried out. However, he said, the repair and renovation work was discontinued due to the objection of the ETPB, Government of Pakistan.

The minister said the minorities affairs department had taken up the matter with the ETPB for issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for resuming the work.

He said Rs120m had so far been spent on the repair and renovation of the historic temple.

Answering another question by opposition members Mangla Sharma and Rabista Khan, the minister said there were 690 temples in the province.

However, to a supplementary question he said that no new temple was constructed during 2017-2018, adding that the construction of new temples was not in purview of the minorities affairs department.

In reply to another question, he said the temples also included eight gurdwaras and 33 churches.

To a supplementary question, the minister said there were three Hindu temples in district West and two in district Korangi.

He said there were 51 Hindu temples in Karachi and they were being run and administered by Hindu panchayats and trusts.

The minister said the provincial government also assisted temple managements during religious festivals.

Opposition member Abdul Aziz asked the minister as to what had been done for the Hanuman Temple in Soldier Bazaar, Karachi, which was in bad shape and required urgent attention.

Mr Hari Ram replied that the department had allocated Rs5m for the repair of Hanuman Temple.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2019