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Wild Parties at Gandhi Ashram!

by Gopalan on Feb 25 2008 4:49 PM

Mahatma Gandhi, that apostle of nonviolence and simple living, should be churning many times over in his grave, given the horrid things perpetrated in his name.

But what’s happening now in the very Ashram left behind by him is easily the most insensitive in the extreme. But not many seems to care.

Well, its like this. The Toran Hotel located in the Sabarmati ashram trust premises in Ahmedabad, capital of the western Indian state of Gujarat, is playing host to wild parties and garish marriages these days.

Gandhi Ashram authorities wring their hands in helplessness. They have written a letter to the Gujarat Tourism Development Corporation on February 13 protesting the practice of letting out the hotel for such events, reports the Times of India.

Secretary of Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust, Amrut Modi, in his letter points out that the guesthouse, Toran, has a specific purpose. It is meant to house national and international tourists. "But, it seems that objective is now undermined by commercialism," said Modi.

The tariff at Toran is much lower compared to other hotels in the city, and so it is high on demand. This activity, said Modi, also unnecessarily increases vehicular traffic in the area, disturbing the ashram's sanctity.

"Tourism department has turned this guesthouse into a vegetable market. The peace of this memorial of Mahatma Gandhi is shattered by this activity," said Modi.

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In his letter, Modi has also alleged that the tourism corporation is using one-third of the space in the guesthouse to store official documents, leaving little space for tourists.

"I hope this request will not go unheard," Modi adds.

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Copies have been marked to other authorities including the Chief Minister of the state.

Source-Medindia
GPL/K


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