Lahore: A budget of one crore Pakistani rupees has been allocated for the reconstruction of a Hindu temple in Pakistan's Punjab province. With the allocation of the budget, the first phase of the renovation of the temple has started after 64 years of its dilapidated condition. A media report gave information about this on Monday. According to the news of 'Dawn News', the federal body 'Evacuee Trust Property Board' (ETPB), which oversees the places of worship of minorities in Pakistan, has started the construction of Baoli Sahib temple in Zafarwal Nagar of Narowal city located on the western bank of the Ravi river in Punjab. This temple had fallen into disrepair in 1960. Currently there is no Hindu temple in Narowal district, due to which the Hindu community has to perform religious rituals at home or has to go to temples in Sialkot and Lahore for that. 

There were once 45 temples

Former president of the Pak Dharamsthan Committee, Rattan Lal Arya, said that due to the control of the ETPB on the Baoli Sahib temple, it fell into disrepair and more than 1,453 Hindus in Narowal were deprived of a place of worship. After the formation of Pakistan, there were 45 temples in Narowal district but all of them fell into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. Arya said that for the last 20 years, the Pak Dharamsthan Committee has been lobbying for the restoration of the Baoli Sahib temple. He said that the government has taken steps to repair the temple to meet the demands of the Hindu community. 

Shoaib Siddal, chairman of the Supreme Court's 'one man commission', and Manzoor Masih, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, played a key role in the repair effort. Pak Dharamsthan Committee chairman Sawan Chand said the repair of the Baoli Sahib temple would fulfil a long-standing demand of the Hindu community, allowing them to perform religious rituals at the place of worship. Hindus are the largest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, more than 7.5 million Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, there are more than 9 million Hindus in the country.