Swami Nirbhayananda Saraswathi, north Karnataka in-charge of Sri Ramakrishna Math, said that a new branch of the ashram would shortly come up in Raichur. Interacting with the presspersons at SSRG Women’s College here recently, he said that the government had granted 16 acres of land near Science Centre on the outskirts of the city for the purpose. “The construction of ashram would take off in September this year. The government has granted 16 acres of land on payment of Rs. 1.05 crore, at Rs. 6.60 an acre,” he said. Once completed, the ashram would take up all religious activities and training programmes mainly focussing on youth, teachers and mothers. “The trend of sacrificing social interests for safeguarding personal ones is on rise. We, basing ourselves on Swami Vivekananda’s thoughts, would like to reverse it by proper education of values and trainings. We would infuse confidence among people and encourage them to think and work for society,” he said.
He also mentioned his thought of opening Swami Vivekananda study centres in each villages of Raichur district in the days to come.
IIT for Raichur
Referring to the ongoing debate on the place in the State to be selected for Indian Institute of Technology that was granted to Karnataka by the Union Government, Nirbhayananda Saraswathi firmly said that Raichur would be an ideal place for the establishment of the premier institute.
“The institute is required for Raichur to fight backwardness. It would change the educationally backward district into a major knowledge hub in the State,” he said. He asked the government to make sincere efforts not only for establishing IIT in Raichur, but also for the all-round progress of the entire region.
