R K Mission pledges to serve people

Kolkata, Dec 17 (UNI) The Ramakrishna Mission undertook extensive programmes for education, medical services, relief and rehabilitation in different parts of the country last year involving a total expenditure of Rs.187.79 crore.

The Mission, in its annual report for 2005-06, placed at the 97th Annual General Meeting, said while a total of Rs 98.71 crore had been spent on educational work for about 6.25 lakh students, medical services were rendered to more than 82.71 lakh people through 15 hospitals and 178 dispensaries, including mobile ones involving an expenditure of Rs 51.45 crore.

During the year, the Mission undertook extensive relief and rehabilitation programmes involving an expenditure of Rs 14.34 crore, benefiting 10.21 lakh people belonging to 1.71 lakh families of 2075 villages. The rural and tribal development projects were executed with a total expenditure of Rs 17.94 crore and welfare work by way of scholarships for poor students, pecuniary help to old, sick and destitute amounted to Rs 5.35 crore, it said.

Deserving special mention in the Mission's string of activities during the period were the new centres that came up at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh, Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Vadodra in Gujarat.

In his address at the AGM, Ramakrishna Math and Mission President Swami Gahanananda called for maintaining the ideal of Swami Vivekananda to 'serve the people and see God in them'.

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