About 10,000 people flocked to an eight-decade-old Hindu temple in the heart of Chinatown on Sunday for its re-consecration.

The ceremony is performed once every 12 years by priests at the Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple.

More significantly, Sunday also marked the end of a $2.4 million facelift for the Keong Saik Road building.

It symbolised a new beginning for the 82-year-old temple, with the anointing of the image of worship, Ganesha.

Streets in the vicinity were cordoned off for devotees, including Malays and Chinese, who had gathered in the area from dawn.

Also present was Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr S. Iswaran. He said the divergent worshippers and the temple's location in Chinatown showed a respect for different religious and ethnic beliefs.

He added that this is 'a remarkable aspect of Singapore society which Singaporeans should continue to preserve and work hard to maintain'.

One devotee and temple volunteer, Mr Ramakrishnan, 40, said: 'People come here because this is a place where wishes come true. Mine have.'