Construction work of Vivek Tirtha begins

The piling work at Vivek Tirtha, the centre for human excellence and social sciences has begun at New Town. The centre will be set up by the Ramakrishna Mission.

The idea to set up a centre of human excellence was initiated by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was present at the foundation stone laying ceremony held on November 11, 2014.

The targeted time of completion is five years and the estimated cost of the project is Rs 172 crore. 

The Airport Authority of India has given clearance and the construction of the boundary wall has been completed. The state higher education department has given Rs 2 crore for the project while another Rs 7 crore has been given by Nabadiganta  Industrial Township  Authority ( NITA). 

The Ramakrishna Mission has approached the Centre for providing funds.

The proposed centre is coming up on five acres of land. Debashis Sen, chairman, Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) and Swami Suhitanandaji, general secretary, Ramakrishna Math and Mission inspected the land on September 11, 2013. 

In November, 2013, the land was registered. The land is situated close to the Eco park. The main building is a 10 storeyed structure and is the replica of the Art Institute at Chicago where Swami Vivekananda had delivered his famous lecture on September 11, 1893. 

 The replica of the Institute has been constructed in Chicago with the first lecture delivered by Swamiji inscribed on the staircase. The road on which the Institute stands has been renamed as Vivekanananda Street.

The main building will house an administrative office, seminar hall and a 1400 capacity state of the art auditorium. Four buildings will be constructed and will be named after very close associates of Swamiji who had worked for the development of Indian society.  The important courses offered at the centre included personality development , the art of developing public speaking, communication skills, motivation for parents, stress management, workshops on citizenship programmes, mind management 

techniques, school of language.  The proposed centre will have a research wing called Vivekananda FResearch wing where study and research will be conducted on various aspects of Indian cultural and spiritual heritage, philosophy and social sciences. As the popularity of Vedanta is increasing among the scholars and young people throughout the globe , there will be researches on Vedanta as applied to modern life, Swami Vivekananda’s ideas and their applications in modern age. The centre will have a publication wing which will bring out books and literature in various languages. 

The centre will work for all round development of individuals and how they can meet challenges of life. 

The proposed centre will be built in a serene ambiance and the course on stress management will help people to live a life of peace and happiness.