WATCH: Progress made at Chatsworth temple after flood destruction
Durban - Work is under way at the temple in Umhlatuzana, Chatsworth, which was left in pieces after the floods of April swept through the place of worship, leaving only parts of the structure intact.
On Monday, Independent Media visited the site to look at the progress being made in terms of the rebuild.
In the past five months, the entire area surrounding the temple, including a railway line that runs perpendicular to it, has seen work done to repair flood damages.
Nevin Govender, one of the executive members that has overseen the rebuild together with Vin Naidoo, said an engineered wall was erected around the temple.
Govender said the height of the temple was raised to prevent further flood damages in the future, should there be any.
There has also been a concrete platform that was installed through the temple grounds.
But the rebuild has been no easy feat, Govender explained, as limited resources and lack of sponsors make the rebuild a daunting task.
The hall, which previously served as a means of income for the temple, was destroyed during the floods. The hall has not been rebuilt yet, as a lack of funds hinder its progress.
Govender said they were patiently waiting for more donors to come forward in order to expedite the process.
“During the floods, the roof of the mother temple fell. That was removed, but we have maintained that puthu (holy ground), and we have built a retaining wall around it. Also, we have raised the surface. We have an engineered wall around it to maintain the structure.
“That entire part, down, where the river was, used to be part of the temple. But now we have pushed that further up. Now you can see that the temple is at a higher level. We have a driveway going down, and we are going to build a ramp going up to the temple,” Govender said.
IOL asked him if they would ever consider relocating the temple, which Govender refused, citing it was holy ground and had been serving the community for decades.
He said they were trying to acquire more land in the vicinity to expand.
During the heavy rains, which brought about flooding in May, parts of the temple slowly fell away into the river as the structure collapsed.
Temple members rushed to the premises in the early hours the day of the flooding, as two caretakers who live on site were trapped by the rising water levels.
The two men, and a dog, had to find a way out of the flooded temple and jump over a wall into the neighbour's yard to safety.
Over 450 KwaZulu-Natal residents died during the flood.
IOL