WORSHIPPERS at the world’s first ‘eco-mandir’ in Kingsbury watched the Mayor of London open the attached community and sports facility.

More than 1,000 Hindus turned out to see Conservative Boris Johnson being welcomed by the organisation’s spiritual leader Acharya Swamishree Maharaj to the Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa, a complex in Kingsbury Road, on Wednesday

Purushottam Mahal, as the multi-function hall is known, is part of a wider £20m complex full of green technology that also houses the traditional Shree Swaminarayan Mandir temple, officially opening in August, and offices for small businesses called Abji Bapashree House, created out of a refurbished McNicholas House block that was the sole building from the site’s former use to avoid demolition.

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Mr Johnson, who was welcomed by the mandir’s own Shree Muktajeevan Pipe Band and afterwards tried his hand at playing the bagpipes, said: “I am hugely impressed at what you have achieved here.

“London is the world’s most diverse city and what better example of that diversity than what we see here today - a traditional, magnificent mandir on ones side of the courtyard and a modern sports and community centre on the other.”

Mandir trustee Mahesh Varsani said: “Acharya Swamishree Maharaj’s mission is to inspire the community through hubs like Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Kingsbury, which he has established all over the world to promote peace, spirituality, charity and community.”

Mr Johnson had a ‘Paagh’ – a turban tied using a single piece of unsewn white cotton - placed on his head in an ancient Indian tradition equivalent to receiving a title or award that is being kept alive by the India-based Maninagar Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Sansthan, the global parent organisation of Shree Swaminarayan Mandir Kingsbury.

The Purushottam Mahal will accommodate the temple’s burgeoning sporting and charity activities, as well as host prestigious events such as weddings, banquets and seminars and will be available for 50 1/2 hours’ hire a week by the wider community.

The building’s name means ‘Palace of the Complete Highest Entity’.