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Odisha March 07, 2016: Aiming GRAM VIKAS, the comprehensive upliftment of rural villages of Bharat, RSS Pracharak and former Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh Sitarama Kedilaya lead Bharat Parikrama Yatra has reached Villages of Odisha.
Today, on March 07, 2016 Bharat Parikrama Yatra completed Day-1308, covering a distance of approximately 18,000km by walk.
Odisha becomes the 20th state to which Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered. Bharat Parikrama Yatra had entered Odisha’s Ambachua Village’s Chandneswar temple of Baleswar Jilla from Khadal Gobra Village of Purb Medinipur Jilla of West Bengal, on February 16.
In first week of August 2016, Bharat Parikrama Yatra to enter Andhra Pradesh.
68 year old Sitarama Kedilaya has now completed approximately over 18,000 kilometers by his mega walkathon.Bharat Parikrama Yatra visited over 1650 villages of 20 states so far, creating awareness about conservation of water, ecology and rural Indian values in village life. The Bharat Parikrama Yatra was started from Kanyakumari on August 09, 2012.
Earlier, RSS Sarasanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat joined Bharat Parikrama Yatra on September 08, 2013 at Seekar district of Rajasthan. RSS chief echoed the aims and concept of the Bharat Parikrama Yatra which was aiming the upliftment of rural Indian life. Bhagwat stressed on the conservation of water, soil, Cow, all forms natural resources. Bhagwat wished Kedilaya for the successful completion of Bharat Parikrama Yatra. This is the second visit of RSS Sarasanghachalak in the same year, who earlier joined Yatra in January 2013 at Panvel of Maharashtra.
- Elaborating on the yatra, Sitarama Kedilaya said that a span of about 10 kilo metres will be covered on a daily basis by foot, after which he will take rest in the village that falls in the vicinity. The primary task he has to undertake will be to get in touch with the youth and the prominent members of the village and discuss important issues like care of sick. This will include the handicapped, blind etc. Other activities like taking a round of the entire village and engaging in a collective session of prayer at the village temple. This will help create a bond of great depth with the people, which will help the villagers realize that villages were, once upon a time, a single encompassing family. However, this feeling has taken a back seat now, which has led to a whole lot of problems everywhere. This has now escalated to national and international levels. The feeling of unity, along with creation of family bonds, if brought back to villages will ensure restoration of harmony to a great extent. This could be instrumental in the rekindling of the concept of ‘Vasudha Eva Kudumbakam’. And then, the journey will resume to the next village.
- Sitaram Kedilaya has dedicated a slogan for the purpose. “Know Bharat, be Bharat and Make Bharat Vishwaguru”. The reason for the yatra is clear. The current trends that prevail are businesslike and commercial , where life is being seen only in terms of trade and profit. This unfortunately has given rise to poverty, unemployment and corruption everywhere. Another trend that prevails is that the world is now a battlefield, with life being nothing but constant strife. This thought stream has led to violence, terrorism and an existence hand with deadly weapons everywhere. This has led to deep turbulence and instability, with people all over the world making a mad scramble for any straw that will provide them with peace. And then this makes them realize that the road to solitude, ultimately happens to be Bharat. It is here that the relevance of the third and most important trend comes into being: “The world is a family and life is a revelation”.
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