Manmohan Singh to attend Vanarai silver jubilee fete

Prime minister Manmohan Singh will visit Pune on October 1 to attend the silver jubilee function of the city-based non-governmental organisation, Vanarai Foundation, as the chief gust.

Vanarai, working in the field of forestation, soil and water conservation, was established by former Union minister Mohan Dharia on July 10, 1986.

The state governor, K Sankaranarayanan, will chair the event. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar will be the guests of honour.

The sarpanchs and deputy sarpanchs of Gawdewadi in Pune district, Varandh in Raigad district and Zari in Latur district will be felicitated as representatives of their respective villages by the PM, implementing the reverse migration model developed by the foundation.

These three villages adopted the Gandhian philosophy of 'back to the village' and curbed migration to cities. After that, reverse migration happened in these villages.

A book, Vedh Vikasacha, penned by Dharia will be released by the PM. It is a compilation of articles by Dharia on subjects ranging from environment and education to population and corruption.