The Hindu : Additional facilities for new Bal Bhavan complex

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 31, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Pondicherry

Additional facilities for new Bal Bhavan complex

By S. Nadarajan

Pondicherry Dec. 30. The Jawahar Bal Bhavan, run by the Directorate of Education in Pondicherry in the century-old Botanical Garden near old bus stand, will soon have a palatial campus of its own.

The Bhavan has been of help for young boys and girls to project their capabilities by taking advantage of this multi-disciplinary art and culture centre.

The new building would come up on 8300 sq meter area on Modeliarpet road near the AFT mills.

It will have classrooms for day-to-day activities, an open-air theatre, a swimming pool, an art gallery, a library, playgrounds and residential accommodation for children of the Bhavan.

The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, will lay the foundation tomorrow.

It would be a residential type of institution through which talented kids but poor would be nurtured, trained and encouraged to compete at the national and international levels in arts and cultural events, according to K. Lakshminarayanan, the Education Minister. To start with the building would be constructed at Rs 20 lakhs.

Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi would release tomorrow greeting cards developed on the basis of paintings of the children of the institution for sale. The Parents' Association of the Bhavan was in charge of marketing of the cards, and the sale proceeds would be utilised for the welfare of the children, an official source said.

The trainees of the Bal Bhavan have brought laurels to the institution. P Revathi of Pondicherry, a Bal Bhavan student, was conferred `Balshree' title at a function in New Delhi. She was honoured for her talents in Bharatanatyam.

Five children of the Bhavan participated in the International Children's Assembly in Mongolia sometime ago.

Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi will also lay foundation for a building for a primary school to be constructed at Raja Nagar under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (Education for all).

The Pondicherry Administration's proposal, involving an outlay of Rs 3.41 crores, was approved by the Centre for the year 2002-2003.

Upgrading 11 primary schools to middle schools would be the chief highlights of the scheme.

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