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fraid that the Jakarta administration'€™s plan to widen the road in front of the Dharma Bhakti Buddhist Temple in Glodok, West Jakarta, might require the use of part of its land, the temple'€™s management has halted the historic site'€™s reconstruction project.

Secretary-general of the temple'€™s management, the Dharma Bhakti Foundation, Mulia Soenardi, said recently that a new design for the temple would be drafted as soon as the city administration provided it with the final design of the road expansion project.

'€œWe are discussing the plan with the Urban Planning Agency; we hope the temple'€™s land won'€™t be affected by the construction,'€ Mulia told The Jakarta Post.

The temple, which was built in 1650 under the name of Guo Xun Guan Temple, was destroyed in a fire on March 2 that was reportedly caused by a piece of tarpaulin catching fire. No casualties were reported in the incident, but around 40 sculptures, many of great antiquity, were destroyed.

According to Mulia, there are parts of the building that remain intact and the temple is open to visitors, with operational hours between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. However, Mulia said people could visit anytime to pray.

'€œEven it is in the middle of the night, just knock on the gate and our staff will let you in,'€ he said.

He added that the foundation was still welcoming donations for the temple'€™s restoration and was confident city funds would not be needed.

'€œWe have received donations from members of our congregation in Indonesia and overseas. I am sure we'€™ll be able to finance the restoration project by ourselves,'€ he continued.

Separately, head of the Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency'€™s infrastructure section, Ian Iskandar, said the Urban Planning Agency would need to seek a recommendation from his agency if a cultural heritage was affected by an infrastructure project.

Ian emphasized that projects should look for ways to avoid impacting heritage sites.

'€œDharma Bhakti Temple is a listed cultural heritage, the road expansion project should consider an alternative plan instead of taking part of the temple'€™s land,'€ he said.

The Urban Planning Agency refused to comment on the issue.

Located on Jl. Kemenangan 3, the historic temple continues to welcome visitors, especially during Imlek or Chinese New Year, when it attracts thousands.

Linda, who visited all the way from Karawang, West Java, said she hoped renovations began as soon as possible.

'€œWe will celebrate Imlek in four months, I am sure we will see lots of donations once people see that the restoration process has begun,'€ she said.