Wanted Probe into Amte Foreign Connections

Anandwan (Maharashtra): The on-going anti-Sardar Sarovar agitation led by Baba Amte is threatening to land the famous Anandwan Ashram here at Warora in Chandrapur district in grave financial crisis. Some of the donors, angered by Baba’s anti-Narmada stance, have already stopped sending their donations to the ashram. Anandwan is the home for more than 3,000 people of which over 1,500 are leprosy patients. Others are blind school boys, deaf-mute children, orphans, handicapped and destitutes. Besides, about 5000 people are dependent on this ashram for their livelihood. The ashram, which was set up by Baba Amte in 1949, runs largely on charity. The ashram runs a dairy, a hospital, a school for blind and colleges of arts, commerce, science and agriculture. The school and colleges were built by leprosy patients. It provides free food, housing, clothing and medicines to the inmates. It can hardly generate Rs.30 lakhs per annum from the projects. Its annual expenditure is to the tune of Rs.2 crore. It has to generate over Rs.1.70 crore from government and individuals’ charity to cover the deficit. According to Dr. Vikas Amte, elder son of Baba, a sizable amount from individual donations have been affected since his father launched the Punjab March as part of his ‘Knit India Movement’ and recent agitation against the Narmada Dam. “The amount would be more than Rs. 15 lakh per year and the maximum donors are from Gujarat,” he said. These individual donors. reportedly have stopped sending donations as they resente the negative stanice adopted by the Baba on the Sarovar project.