October 29, 2003

SRI SATHYA SAI SEVA ORGANISATION 

“DHARMAKSHETRA”, Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai-400093.

 TEL: 28377999 

PRESS RELEASE

Come 2^nd November 2003 and cheer will brighten the faces of inhabitants of 4 villages of Tarpatti, Kombiltekdi, Maldunge and Satyechiwadi situated about 20km from New Mumbai as piped drinking water would reach at their door step. 

These villages are mostly inhabited by ‘Adivasis’, they are mostly reliant on agriculture as their main source of sustenance’. While water is available during the monsoon season, the other months are torrid.  The hapless villagers have to trek long distances every day to fetch water for their daily need. Besides the heat and dust, the path to the solitary well in that region is inclined and in some places steep, making the daily chore even more dangerous. The water itself is turbid and hits the bottom of the well a few weeks after the monsoon.  

The youth wing of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, Mumbai with a view to alleviate the suffering of the villagers, took initiatives to provide these villagers with piped water. This project will benefit more than 1000 people in the villages of Tarpatti, Kombiltekdi, Maldunge and Satyechiwadi. Earlier the youth wing of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation had successfully completed a similar Water Project in the neighboring village of Dodhani, which today benefits more than 1200 people.  

The project was initiated on 20^th April 2003. After a few exploratory visits by geologists, a water table was cited at the village. After consultations with the local residents, digging of a well was taken up in right earnest. Immediately after the monsoon season, construction of water storage tanks, laying an intricate network of water pipes over undulating terrain, construction of distribution points (tappas) and installation of booster pump were carried out. Water is pumped into a storage tank and then through pipes distributed to various points in the villages. An additional tank was also constructed in the midst of the hill to distribute water for the two villages at the foothills. 

The project was completed within a record time and is now scheduled for a formal inauguration on Sunday the 2^nd November 2003.Youth in large numbers from the city of Mumbai would be joining the ecstasy of the villagers for the flow of water into their villages.  

SRI Sathya Sai Seva Organisation is a service organisation with a spiritual core, founded under the guidance and inspiration of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, for the benefit of mankind, irrespective of religion, nationality, caste or creed. The most important objective of the Organisation is to awaken the Divine Consciousness latent in every man and through his practise of Truth, Righteous Conduct, Love and Non-violence, usher in an era peace and harmony the world over. One royal path for achieving this objective is through Selfless Service or Seva. The most significant aspect of the Sai Organisation is the voluntary participation of all its members irrespective of caste, class or nationality 

Sri Sathya Sai Baba, regarded and revered as a divine incarnation by millions of devotees the world over, has established outstanding educational institutions and state-of-the-art speciality hospitals in rural Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh) and Whitefield (Bangalore). All services by these institutions are provided free of cost, irrespective of the faith or financial status of the beneficiary. Sri Sathya Sai water project in Anantpur district, commissioned in a record span of 12 months, provides pure drinking water to nearly 780 villages in the parched heartland of Rayalseema. A massive project to provide drinking water to Chennai is in progress and scheduled for completion in the next few weeks.

In Mumbai the Sri Sathya Sai  Seva Organisation has adopted many slums spread all over the city and suburbs and also adopted some close by villages. They provide services in the field of Education, Health and Spirituality. The Members also visit Remand homes, Leprosy homes, Old Age homes etc. as part of their spiritual Sadhana.  

RAJEEV NAMBIAR

PRESS CELL