"An institute of eminence in the memory of Adi Shankaracharya will be established at Omkareshwar and a course would be introduced about him in the school syllabus to keep people abreast about the great saint," state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said here today.
Chouhan said this on the occasion of the ongoing 'Namami Devi Narmade - Sewa Yatra', which will be arriving here later in the day.
He also said that a grand statue of Adi Shankaracharya would be put up in the town to make people aware about his great journey that ended at the age of 32.
"It was in Omkareshwar where the young Shankar met his Guru Govinda Bhagavatpada in a cave and attained highest spiritual elevations. He founded the four 'matha' (monastries), which helped the historical development, revival and spread of Advaita Vedanta," Chouhan said.
He said the state government has already decided to shut liquor shops within five kms of Narmada river banks.
Highlighting steps taken for conservation of Narmada, he said the state government has allocated Rs 1,500 crore for setting up sewage treatment plants in 15 towns on the banks of the river.
He said all towns and villages on Narmada's banks would be open defecation free and a dense plantation would be carried out there to increase water retention capacity.
The function was also addressed by noted saint Awdheshanandji, Sadhvi Rithambara and filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi, among others.
'Namami Devi Narmade - Sewa Yatra' was started on December 11 last year from Amarkantak, the place of Narmada's origin. It will cover 1,831 km on southern bank comprising 548 villages/towns and 1,513 km on northern bank comprising of 556 village/towns, thus covering 3,344 kms in 144 days.
Welcoming the decision to install a statue of Adi
Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar, Swami Awdheshanand urged the people of Madhya Pradesh to donate whatever metal pieces they can for the cause.
He along with other saints also announced to extend all possible cooperation for the cause.