Singapore: Undeterred by heavy rain, nearly 20,000 people joined Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to mark the restoration and consecration of the country's oldest Hindu temple, built nearly 200 years ago by early Indian migrants.
The Sri Mariamman Temple, a national monument, was unveiled to the public after a year-long restoration. The Singapore dollars 3.5 million (USD 2.6 million) restoration involved 12 specialist sculptors and seven metal and wood artisans from India who worked on the sanctums, domes and ceiling frescoes.
The temple's original colour scheme and structure have been retained. "This is part of living in multicultural Singapore, where the whole community comes together to celebrate each other's cultural and religious milestones," Wong wrote in a Facebook post.
The one year restoration was led by chief sculptor Dr K Dakshinamoorthy who is also the restoration advisor to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments of Tamil Nadu.
Wong was joined at the ceremony by Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo, Transport Minister S Iswaran and Member of Parliament Murali Pillai, as well as migrant workers from southern India.