Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said organisations like Harijan Sevak Sangh are doing "yeoman service" and deserve a helping hand from philanthropists.
Naidu said this while laying foundation stone of the organisation's women's hostel named after Didi Nirmala Deshpande whom he praised as a Gandhian and a messanger of peace.
Sangh is a not-for-profit organisation founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932 in then Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu.
"Didi Nirmala Deshpande, who headed the organisation till her last breath, was a dedicated Gandhian, who set an example for thousands of people not only in India but all over the globe," a government statement quoted Naidu as saying.
"She was a true messenger of peace and also strove for communal harmony," he added.
The hostel is planned to be completed by 2020 and will provide accommodation to more than 200 girls.
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He also rededicated Thakkar Bapa Vidyalaya, named after the close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, and unveiled his "renovated" statue.
--IANS
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