Whenever he was in trouble during younger days, he not only offered prayers at the nearby mosque but also worshipped Hindu deity Lord Shiva. He also visited temples with his friends and now this reverence for God has made 39-year-old Akbar Khan to construct a Lord Shiva temple. Before dedicating the temple to the public on April 30, Khan has organised invitation prayers of Lord Ganesha, a kalash yatra, a yagna and a bhajan sandhya at Tonk town in Rajasthan, almost 150 kms from here.

Khan cannot precisely remember when he started revering Lord Shiva. Recalling his inclination towards Lord Shiva, he said, "Whenever I was in trouble emotionally or financially, I had always prayed Lord Shiva and all my troubles vanished."

"Allah kaho ya Ram, kya farak padta hai (Whether you say Allah or Ram it does not matter)," he said stressing the need of communal harmony.

The temple named 'Bhooteshwar Mahadev' is located in 100 square meters at Om Vihar Colony. The temple will not only have the idol of Lord Shiva but also have whole Shiva family. "I am thankful to Lord Shiva that he has chosen me for the task. I have constructed the temple without any financial help. There was no temple in Om Vihar Colony," said Khan, who runs a school in the town. "I got the idols from Sikandara in Dausa," he said.

Asked if he had faced any objections from his own community or other communities, he said, "I never faced any kind of objection. With this temple I would like to give a loud and clear message that whether you call Allah or you call Ram both are same. Members of all religion should respect each other's religion," he added.

"We have got idols having heights ranging from 3 feet to 5 feet. We will have idols of Parvati, and Lord Ganesha. Prior to that, we are organising a programme on April 28 to be started by a good number of pandits in which we will offer prayers to Lord Ganesha to come to the temple. This would be followed by a kalash yatra in which 251 women will participate on April 29. Then there would be a bhajan programme and yagna. From April 30 onwards, the temple would be open for the public," Akbar said.