Mangaluru, Jan 19, 2017: Reports state that Swami Vivekananda Park that has been newly created near Bijai church in the city was inaugurated by MLA, J R Lobo, the bust of Swami Vivekananda was unveiled on this occasion by Swami Jitakamanandaji of Ramakrishna Math here.
Chief whip of the state legislative council, MLC, Ivan D’Souza, promoter of the project, Bhandary Builders president, Lakshmeesh Bhandary, chief whip of the city corporation, Shashidhar Hegde, standing committee chairpersons, Lancylot Pinto and S Appi, former city mayor, Mahabala Marla, corporators, Keshav Maroli, A C Vinayaraj, Rajanish, Akhila Alva, Muhammed, Latif, trustee of Shri Shirdi Saibaba Mandir, Vishwas Kumar Das, Park Committee office bearers, Raghuraj Kadri, Mamata Shetty, Deviprasad Kadri, Raghavendra Achar, and Venu Sharma were present. Park Committee president and corporator, Prakash B Salian, welcomed the many present.
Adressing the gathering at the Bijai church hall later, Swami Jitakamanandaji recalled that Veivekananda had reposed full faith on the ability of the young populace of the country to lead their nation towards a bright future. He thanked the concerned for erecting a park dedicated to a great spiritual leader and self-realized soul like Vivekananda.
Church in charge Rev. Wilson L Vitus, in his address, praised Bhandary Builders for converting a spot that was full of filth into a beautiful garden. He also appreciated the interest taken by local corporator, Prakash B Salian, in this direction. "If the area where we live is clean, our mind remains calm. When our mind is peaceful, we can work well," he opined.