Sikhs in western Sydney are are claiming their temple has been around longer than locals after police refused them a permit for a street parade, citing safety risks and disruption to traffic and public transport.
Video of last year’s parade near the Gurdwara Sahib Glenwood shows crowds of Sikhs blocking the streets outside, but community leaders were shocked when their application for another parade on Sunday was denied by Blacktown City Council.
NSW Police called the proposed event a “significant risk to the safety of participants” and a nearby resident named Angela told A Current Affair that traffic congestion was a major issue in the neighbourhood.
“There is no parking. So what’s happening is the traffic is building up because people are driving up to the temple hoping they will get a park,” she said.
“They don’t get a park, and then they’re crowding the streets, and then we’ve just got blockages like everywhere.”
But temple committee member Dilbag Sidhu said the parade had been going for many years, saying police had told him they were concerned about if “some hothead wants to crash the party”, but described opposition to the parade from local residents as “hate”.
“A majority of the residents know about us, and the temple was here long before the residences went up,” he said.
“We don’t need to be upset, people who hate us, we feel sorry for them, because basically it’s not much of a life to start hating people.”
Founder of charity group Turbans 4 Australia, Amar Singh, said: “Don’t just look at us and go ‘Hey, they’re outsiders’.
“We are Australians. We live here. Our kids are born here, brought up here. We give back so much. So this is our home.”
Blacktown Mayor Brad Bunting said “public safety is number one” but he was working with police and the Sikh community to find a solution.
The Glenwood temple is Australia’s largest and is regularly visited by politicians such as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose Labor Party won 85% of the Indian vote at the last federal election.
Header image: Left, right, crowds at last year’s parade (Sanjhe Vichar).
