Good news for the temple. Through their\u00a0perseverance, they managed to get their land approved, even though it took 30 years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nAFTER 30 years of waiting, the Arulmigu Sri Ramalingeswarar temple in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar finally got their approval letter last Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 100-year-old temple, which has been operating without proper documentation, had approached Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin to solve the issue.<\/p>\n
It took two years for the process to be completed since the temple was situated on private land.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to contact the landowner and negotiate with them and the process is also a long one,\u201d added Nong Chik.<\/p>\n
He said it could not have been done without the assistance of the various parties including the Land Office which was sensitive about religious sites as well.<\/p>\n
Nong Chik handed the gazette approval letter for part of Lot 61 Section 916A Kuala Lumpur under Section 62 of the National Land Act during a special consecretion ceremony (kumbhabhishegam<\/em>) at the temple.<\/p>\n
The land has been gazetted for temple use and will be run by the temple committee members.<\/p>\n
Temple president A. Velayutham said they were grateful for the assistance provided by Nong Chik and that now they would only have to solve their parking woes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously our devotees used to park by the road until City Hall built pavements as part of the beautification process. Since there are now three-and-a-half lanes we will write to DBKL to ask permission to use the last lane for parking,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
During the event, Nong Chik also presented a RM100,000 grant from the Federal Territories Ministry to the temple.<\/p>\n
Velayutham said the money would be used for their renovation work which was nearing completion.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery 12 years the temple will be renovated and we estimate this year\u2019s work to cost about RM1.5mil.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe managed to collect RM800,000 from the public,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Apart from the grant by Nong Chik, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Subramaniam also presented RM100,000 on behalf of the Government.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n