Auroville's monthly news magazine since 1988

Published: March 2018 (8 years ago) in issue Nº 344

Keywords: 50th Anniversary – Auroville, Prime Minister’s visit, Roads, Governing Board, Matrimandir, Exhibitions, Lotus Pond fountain, Inner Chamber, Water Ceremony, 2018, Savitri Bhavan, Security and Village relations

References: Sri Narendra Modi and Dr Karan Singh

The Visit of the Prime Minister

Feature story — Story by 

 
Prime Minister Modi greets members of the Governing Board and Working Committee of the Auroville Foundation at Savitri Bhavan. From left: Dr. Karan Singh, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation, Mr. Modi, Carel, Sauro and and Dr

Prime Minister Modi greets members of the Governing Board and Working Committee of the Auroville Foundation at Savitri Bhavan. From left: Dr. Karan Singh, Chairman of the Auroville Foundation, Mr. Modi, Carel, Sauro and and Dr

That the visit of Sri Narendra Modi would cause a lot of commotion was to be expected. Just how much became clear by the middle of January, when the Aurovilians found out that access to many roads was blocked, diverting them to dusty bypasses. Months earlier, Auroville's road and air connectivity had been scrutinized. Two access roads were required and two helipads in case the Prime Minister's helicopter would land in Auroville.

That the visit of Sri Narendra Modi would cause a lot of commotion was to be expected. Just how much became clear by the middle of January, when the Aurovilians found out that access to many roads was blocked, diverting them to dusty bypasses. Months earlier, Auroville's road and air connectivity had been scrutinized. Two access roads were required and two helipads in case the Prime Minister's helicopter would land in Auroville.

The roads were found to be in a dismal state. The tar road from the East Coast Road to the National Highway was declared unfit for the Prime Minister's smooth passage. Within Auroville the situation was worse: the dirt road in front of the Visitors' Centre and the one past Certitude were heavily potholed; and the paver block road from the Visitors' Centre to the Matrimandir needed upgrading. All speed breakers on these roads were required to be removed. The Collector of the Villupuram district ordered the re-tarring of the tar road, with special focus on Kuilapalayam village where the road was remade in concrete. NLC India Limited, a public sector company, helped out with the road in front of the Visitors' Centre by making a donation in kind. Under its supervision, the entire road stretch was paved with paver blocks made in situ. Auroville's Road Service took charge of the other road repair works. It relaid large sections of the existing paver block road, dismantled all speed breakers and built a poured-earth concrete road on .the stretch from Certitude to the Solar Kitchen roundabout under the supervision of the Auroville Earth Institute. Where to put the helipads? L'Avenir d' Auroville, Auroville's town planning department, offered some suggestions, but the plots were either too small with too many trees in the vicinity, or had no decent road access. When, at last, the Adventure sports ground near Edayanchavady was declared suitable, news reached that the Prime Minister's helicopter would land at Pondicherry airport, making the construction of a helipad no longer necessary.