Siddhivinayak’s waiting hall ready, awaits eco clearance

For nearly four months now, a five-storey waiting hall meant for devotees at Prabhadevi’s Siddhivinayak temple is ready. They, however, cannot avail of the facility as the hall cannot be opened to devotees without clearance from the Union environment ministry.

The hall, situated next to the temple, can accommodate 4,000 devotees and has been built at a cost of Rs16 crore.

The building, which was supposed to have been inaugurated during Ganeshotsav, falls in the CRZ-II zone and needs the ministry’s go-ahead before it can be thrown open to devotees.

“We hope to get the environmental clearance from Delhi. Pilgrims can then directly enter the temple, which is connected to the hall, without having to stand in the sun or rain,” Subhash Mayekar, chairman of the temple trust, told DNA.

The building boasts of a 5,000-sq ft hall that will be rented out as an art gallery for a nominal charge. There are 5,000 CCTVs installed and the building has facilities like drinking water and toilets for people. Some of the administrative offices in the temple building will be shifted to the new wing.

Around 25,000-2 lakh devotees visit Siddhivinayak every day. On Tuesdays, it takes five hours to reach the gabhara or sanctum. Many devotees prefer to join the shorter queues leading to the first-floor viewing gallery.

During Angaraki Chaturthi, when 10 lakh people visit Siddhivinayak, the temple trust hires an adjacent playground on lease to manage long queues.

The temple offers Satyanarayan, Satyavinayak, Panchamrut, Abhishek and Shorakchar pujas every day. Once the waiting hall is inaugurated, the temple plans to offer more puja services. It also wants to hold community marriages for people of different castes and religions. In 2009-10, the temple earned a revenue of Rs42 crore, out of which only six to seven per cent was spent on temple administration.