AMALABHARATHOM PROGRAMME

AMALABHARATHOM PROGRAMME

(3,200 volunteers take part in cleanliness campaign)

Over 3,200 volunteers of the Amalabharathom campaign, attached to Mata Amritanandamayi Math, took part in a two-day cleaning drive which concluded at Sabarimala on Sunday,4^th November,2012.A host of prominent people, including former union Minister O. Rajagopal; Amrita University vice chancellor P. Venkat Rangan; and a good number of professionals from India and abroad took part in the campaign.

Mr. Rajagopal, who had joined the volunteers at Sannidhanam, was critical of the temple administration and the government for the poor sanitation arrangements at Sabarimala.

He alleged criminal negligence on part of the authorities with regard to cleanliness, hygiene, and sanitation at the pilgrim centre. At Sabarimala, double the population of the State congregate during the two-month pilgrimage season and hygiene should not be ignored, he said.

“Students from almost all major campuses of the university took part in the campaign which provides them an opportunity to think about the importance of community living and sanitation on a broader perspective, shedding egos and selfish motives,” Dr. Rangan said.

The team removed filth from the Pampa riverbed and its banks.“The sad part is the heavy accumulation of filth in the Pampa which the devotees consider holy. This situation should change,” he said. Nearly 100 foreign volunteers of the Amalabharathom campaign were apparently thrilled to see the activity.“Nowhere else in the world could one find a place like India that offers such a unique, rich tradition of philosophy that sooths and energises your spirit,” said Nagti Rajaikyla from Finland. (He is an international swimmer who participated in the 2004 and 2008 Olympic games.He is in Sabarimala for the second time as part of the Amalabharathom team.“A soul-filling experience indeed, to be part of the Amalabharathom cleaning mission at Sabarimala,” said 18-year-old William Warren from New York.

Prof. John Kurakar