Bolton temple celebrates 50 years with street parade

People donned colourful sarees and lehenga dresses as they joined a parade from Spa Road to Derby Street to celebrate 50 years of the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple - Bolton.

There were people from all over the country from sister temples and many had even travelled from India to take part in the procession.

Events lead, Eila Versani said there were around 4,000 people in the crowds.

She said: “It’s been hectic I won’t lie, but it’s been really overwhelming, we didn’t think for a small town like Bolton we would get this response from the public, so it’s been good to get the support.

“I think is a milestone from Bolton as well.”

Spa Road closed for some hours while the procession passed through.

Leader of the council, Cllr Nick Peel attended the parade along with Cllr Rabiya Jiva, Cllr Emily Mort, and Cllr Martin Donaghy.

Cllr Peel hailed the event as a great success for Bolton.

He said: “It’s been absolutely brilliant.

“The weather is with us today and the organisation is amazing.

“There are volunteers going around handing out water but the biggest thing is the colour, the vibrancy and the happiness about this celebration, so we are really pleased to be here to watch it.”

Darshan Pindoria travelled from London to attend the parade with his nephew.

He said: “It’s a big milestone and most of our parents all moved to Bolton, so this is home turf for us.

“If Bolton ever calls us, we show up basically and we all owe it to Bolton.

“Bolton is great, and this event only happens once in a while, so when it happens, it happens big.”

The temple on Adelaide Street put on a similar event for the 40 year celebration.

Dhruv Bhatt came all the way from India to attend the event and see his family He said: “The event is beautiful and lovely, and there are people from all over on coaches.

“Bolton has a good culture, everyone is united and we like this here.”

The weekend has been full of events for the temple as they hosted another event the night before at the Toughsheet Stadium.

Cllr Rabiya Jiva highlighted the importance of having the event to promote culture and diverse communities.

She said: “It’s really important as the lead for stronger communities that we support all faiths and have vibrancy in this town with such diverse communities.

“And I would like to thank people from all around the country because there are some amazing people contributing to the festival, so well done and thank you for bringing colour to the town of Bolton.”