Admitting that the towering presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba was being missed, trustee of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Puttaparthi, R.J. Ratnakar, said on Thursday that the public service schemes initiated by the Baba would continue unhindered. Addressing a press conference on his maiden visit to the city, he said that none of the existing schemes was withdrawn or the pace reduced since Baba’s demise in 2011. “On the contrary, we are going ahead by upgrading the standards,” said Mr. Ratnakar. According to him, the central trust has pumped in Rs. 60 crore to upgrade the facilities at the two super-speciality hospitals located at Puttaparthi and Whitefield in Bengaluru.
“This apart, we are launching a new state-of-the-art research facility at the Sathya Sai University with an initial investment of Rs. 20 crore,” he said.
On new services pertaining to coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. Ratnakar said that the central trust would be spending Rs. 80 crore for setting up 100 RO (reverse osmosis) plants in 100 villages across the State. “We have identified 14 villages in Srikakulam, 18 in Visakhapatnam, and 12 in Vizianagaram. A couple of them have already become functional and work is under way on the other projects,” he said.
He did not rule out setting up of a few more super-speciality hospitals in other districts and states.
Central trust to spend Rs. 80 crore for setting up 100 RO plants in as many villages across the State
