Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Tuesday hailed Swami Atmanand for serving humans in distress and implementing the vision of Swami Ramkrishna Paramhans on the ground.
He was addressing the Swami Atmanand Jayanti Ceremony organised at Patan tehsil of Durg district virtually.
The Chief Minister said a 'Dharsa Vikas Yojana’ will be started through which the village raw-roads will be paved, said an official statement. He said to prepare the ‘Dharsa Construction Plan’, a panel will be set up of Secretaries of the Panchayat, Revenue and Public Works departments.
Similarly, all the English Medium Schools being opened across the state will be run under Swami Atmanand English Medium School Scheme. But the names of schools which have been named after legendary sons of soil will be retained, he said.
Baghel said Swami Vivekananda spent maximum time in Raipur after Kolkata. The building in which he stayed will be converted into an international memorial.
Recalling Swami Atmanand’s contribution, Baghel said service to humanity was his aim. That is why the funds collected for Matt and Ashram were spent on drought affected persons.
He even ensured a well at village Ameri and pond at Achanakpur. He commenced serving nutritious food to pregnant women during the drought period to ensure no child is born under-nourished.
He also spent money for settlement of refugees during 1971 Indo-Pakistan war as they arrived from Bangladesh at Pakhanjore (Bastar), Mana (Raipur) and Dharamjaigarh (Jashpur) camps.
Baghel said that on the request of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Swami Atmanand established an ashram for education of tribal children at Abhujmad (Narayanpur). He also set up Matt and ashrams at Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat and other states.
He ensured medical treatment facility through Ayurveda, allopathy, homeopathy and ambulance at the ashrams. The State is extending his scheme through the 'haat bazaar clinic' and urban slum health schemes.