Siddhivinayak waiting area may be opened by May-end

Siddhivinayak temple’s five-storey air-conditioned waiting facility, which has been ready since September 2010, could be opened before the monsoon.

The waiting facility, located next to the temple, could not be used because it falls in Coastal Regulation Zone II (CRZ-II) and did not have clearance from the Union environment ministry.

Temple officials said that environment clearance has now been obtained. The trust is now waiting for an occupation certificate from the BMC. “We are hoping to get BMC clearance in a week and open the waiting hall in the last week of May,” said Subhash Mayekar, chairman of the temple trust.

The waiting facility was first planned in 2005, and the construction began the following year. Trustees had plans to inaugurate it during last year’s Ganeshotsav but could not go ahead.
Built at a cost of Rs16 crore, the waiting facility will accommodate about 3,500-4,000 devotees. “The temple is on the list of terror targets and devotees will be safe here as they will not have to wait on road,” said Mayekar.

The new building will also have a 5,000-sq-ft hall that will be rented out as an art gallery at a nominal rent. There will be CCTVs, drinking water and toilets. Some of the administrative offices in the temple building will be shifted to the new wing. Devotees who regularly visit the temple said they are eager to see the waiting facility.