More than 24,000 Christians had fled their homes after their houses were attacked by rampaging mobs following Saraswati's killing. Later, the administration set up 13 relief camps in the district for riot victims. Eleven of them have now been closed. Nearly 700 victims are, however, still in two relief camps – one in Mandakia and another in Tiangia village. Efforts are on to send the remaining people back to their villages. To inspire confidence, armed policemen have been stationed around churches.
From Tikabali, we headed towards Chakapada, a block headquarters famous as the karmabhumi of the late Laxmanananda Saraswati. Narrow hilly roads made the drive a tad difficult for the cab driver. It took us nearly one hour to cover a distance of 18 kilometers.
Surrounded by hills and a dense forest, Chakapada is a remote village, but the place is well developed. It has a school, a health centre and panchayat offices. We stopped in front of the Chakapada ashram, which was set up by Saraswati in 1966.This was one of the institutions that he established in Kandhamal to promote education among the poor, specifically the Dalits. Chakapada gurukul ashram is now home to around 300-plus students.
The ashram had planned no special event to commemorate the Swamiji’s death anniversary. But we spotted some students cleaning his samadhi with cowdung. Malay Charan Majhi, a tribal inmate, told us: “Swamiji was like our father and mother. He was a very caring man. We’ve been orphaned by his demise.”
From Tikabali, we headed towards Chakapada, a block headquarters famous as the karmabhumi of the late Laxmanananda Saraswati. Narrow hilly roads made the drive a tad difficult for the cab driver. It took us nearly one hour to cover a distance of 18 kilometers.
Surrounded by hills and a dense forest, Chakapada is a remote village, but the place is well developed. It has a school, a health centre and panchayat offices. We stopped in front of the Chakapada ashram, which was set up by Saraswati in 1966.This was one of the institutions that he established in Kandhamal to promote education among the poor, specifically the Dalits. Chakapada gurukul ashram is now home to around 300-plus students.
The ashram had planned no special event to commemorate the Swamiji’s death anniversary. But we spotted some students cleaning his samadhi with cowdung. Malay Charan Majhi, a tribal inmate, told us: “Swamiji was like our father and mother. He was a very caring man. We’ve been orphaned by his demise.”
