Chhattisgarh CM visits site of proposed 'Sevagram' in Nava Raipur

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday inspected the site of a proposed centre to be set up in Nava Raipur similar to the renowned ashram in Sevagram in Wardha in neighbouring Maharashtra, an official here said. The state government has said the centre, envisioned as ''Sevagram of the 21st century'', is aimed at keeping alive Gandhian philosophy and the Mahatma's vision of ''Gram Swaraj''.

During the inspection, the officials told Baghel, who was accompanied by All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of training Sachin Rao, that 76.5 acres of land has been earmarked for the project.

The centre will be developed with the traditional rural building style of the state in which locally available materials will be used, with the road inside the ashram also being built in accordance with the rural environment, a public relations department official said.

''The entire area will be full of greenery. To strengthen the rural economy and to realize the dream of self-reliant villages, provision will also be made to train artisans here. It will be built using using clay, limestone and other natural materials, and will house centres based on Gandhian principles, rural arts and crafts. There will be an old age home and a school for the underprivileged as well,'' he said.

The project, which aims to promote tourism, Chhattisgarhi folk art and exchange of Gandhian thoughts and ideas, would empower locals, he added.

Baghel and Rao later visited a 'gauthan' (place in a village where animals are kept) in Paragaon and inspected various economic activities being carried out there by women's groups, including poultry farming, goat rearing, vegetable farming and fodder development.

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