14 December 2005 — Amritapuri
This Sunday, the 18th of December, His Excellency the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will come to Amritapuri Ashram in order to hand over 500 tsunami-relief houses to local government authorities in the presence of Amma.
When the President hands over the keys to the tsunami houses during his visit to the Ashram, it will raise the total number of tsunami homes completed by the Ashram in India to 2000. Earlier this year, MAM took on the responsibility of constructing 6200 tsunami-relief houses in India.
The houses built on the coastal belt of Alappad Panchayat are spread over 17.5 kilometers, comprising all 13 wards of the panchayat. Each house was built using a foundation comprising eight nine-metre-deep pilings. The villagers had their option of single-storey or double-storey houses.
The Honourable Chief Minister of Kerala, Sri. Oomman Chandy, and the Honourable Minister of Revenue, Sri. K.M. Mani, will also participate in the programme.
This will be the first time His Excellency has visited Amritapuri since becoming President. However, Dr. Kalam did visit the Ashram on 2nd October 2001, just before he was elected. At that time, he met with Amma and gave a lecture to the students of Amrita Institute.
The President also spoke at Amma’s 50th Birthday Celebrations in 2003 in Cochin. At that time, he gave an address at the Youth Meet {news} and was the key figure in the CEO Summit {news}, which gathered top executives from India and abroad to brainstorm ways to make India a spiritually strong, economically secure, fully developed nation.
-Kannadi