‘Hugging saint’ to visit Mangaluru on February 23

Mangaluru, Feb 21: Thousands of devotees are expected to participate 'Amritasangama 2017' to be held on February 23 at Amrita Vidyalayam Grounds near Sulthan Bathery, Boloor, Mangaluru, wherein hugging saint Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi will hug and bless them.

Jeevaraj Sorake, honorary president of Mangaluru Mata Amritanandamayi Math said that the Amritasangama programme will commence at 4pm and a public meet will be held at 6pm. Shripad Yasso Naik, Union minister of state (independent charge), ministry of Ayush, Karnataka Lokayukta P Vishwanath Shetty, minister for forest, environment and ecology B Ramanath Rai, minister for food, civil supplies and consumer affairs U T Khader, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Mangaluru city south MLA J R Lobo, MLCs Ivan D'Souza, Ganesh Karnik and mayor K Harinath will be the guests, he said.

Amma, also popular as the 'Hugging Saint', will hug each and every devotee who visits her during darshan. Various pujas including Udayasthamana pooja, Navagraha Shanti Homa, Maha Sudarshana Homa, Bhagavathi puja and Alankara pooja will be held at the Brahmasthana, from 6am onwards.

The evening programme comprises of wheelchair distribution to the phyisically challenged, distribution of three coloured waste disposal bins to schools as part of Amala Bharatam (Swachha Bharat) Campaign (ABC), scholarship distribution to the talented economically backward students, launching Amritashri women empowerment project, pension scheme for the widows and senior ladies and distribution of Ayush (medical) kits to help physical and mental health of senior citizens. Contact 0824-2457056 or 8951470744 for more details.