A budget of Rs 10 million has been allocated for the restoration of the Baoli Sahib temple in the Punjab province to address the long-standing demands of the Hindu community in Pakistan.
This marks the first phase of reconstruction, 64 years after the temple was rendered dysfunctional.
The Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), a federal body responsible for overseeing minority worship sites in Pakistan, has commenced work on restoring the Baoli Sahib temple, located in Zafarwal town in Narowal, a city along the western bank of the Ravi River.The temple has been out of service since 1960, according to Dawn News.
Currently, there is no functional Hindu temple in the entire Narowal district, forcing the local Hindu population to either conduct religious ceremonies at home or travel to temples in Sialkot and Lahore.
Ratan Lal Arya, the former president of the Pak Dharamsthan Committee, explained that the temple became non-functional after the ETPB took control of it. The Hindu community in Narowal, numbering over 1,453 people, has since lacked a proper place to conduct their rituals.
Narowal district once had 45 Hindu temples, all of which have fallen into disrepair over time.
The restoration work is currently focused on constructing a boundary wall around the four kanals of land, after which the temple will be handed over to the Pak Dharamsthan Committee.
Hindus represent the largest minority group in Pakistan. Official estimates suggest that there are around 7.5 million Hindus in the country, though the community claims the number is closer to 9 million. The majority of Pakistan’s Hindu population resides in Sindh province, where they share cultural and linguistic ties with their Muslim neighbors.
