Over 20,000 worship at Swaminarayan Temple

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GANDHINAGAR, INDIA, September 29, 2002: Joining in a special prayer gathering with Pramukh Swami Shastrinarayan Swarupdas, 20,000 devotees assembled inside the Swaminarayan Temple for the first time since the terrorist attack. Thousands stood outside and watched the program live on closed-circuit TVs and queues extended half-a-kilometer from the temple as visitors kept pouring in. Gun-toting security personnel stood with binoculars at vantage points to protect the crowds. Even security personnel joined in offering floral tributes and holding lamps during the arati, worship. The temple will officially re-open on October 1, Tuesday, exactly a week after the attack that killed over 30 people.