Ottawa contributing funds for Sikh Society of Calgary security upgrades
Posted Sep 10, 2018 12:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The federal government will help pay for security upgrades at the Sikh Society of Calgary in the southwest.
A $79,000 grant was handed over Monday morning.
The place of worship, called the gurdwara, was vandalized in 2016 with swastikas and profanity.
Brand new cameras, lighting and security gates now surround the building located along 81 Street S.W.
President Inderjit Singh Wadhwa says they faced some opposition in the early 1970s when they wanted to build the gurdwara, but eventually felt they’d won over the community.
“We provide meals to everybody, Hindu, Sikh, anyone can come,” he explained. “Every Sunday we have meals done by the congregation. We didn’t have too many problems after that.”
But after the incident almost two years ago, they started to feel uneasy again.
“We are very fortunate to have this security system that nobody can dare come to demolish, or damage the gurdwara,” he added.
The grant is part of Ottawa’s crime prevention fund to support various institutions and places of worship across Canada.
