Illustration of a Hindu Temple proposed for Burnham Street Extension. (Town of Manchester)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, December 8, 2017 (Courant): The growing population of Hindus in the area has prompted a congregation’s proposal to build a temple in Manchester, a leader of a local congregation said. The planning and zoning commission is to consider an application from OM Foundation, Inc. to construct a 10,125-square-foot temple on vacant land on Burnham Street Ext. The commission is scheduled to meet Monday at 7 p.m. in Lincoln Center. The temple would be built on a 6.5-acre parcel on a dead-end road. Floor plans show a central multi-purpose hall, a kitchen, a children’s education room, an office and several other smaller rooms. Also proposed is a 109-space parking lot.
Chandrasekhar Colaganti, head priest, said the congregation began meeting in a rented space in Middletown in 2009, but since then, many Hindus have moved to the Manchester area. Colaganti said he hoped construction could begin next year, but money has to be raised. The congregation totals about 400 people. The temple would serve Hindus from throughout the state, according to planning documents, but there is a growing concentration of the faithful in the Manchester area. The number of South Asians from India in Manchester (pop. 58,000) has increased from an estimated 1,627 in 2010 to In 3,266 last year, according to the U.S. Census.