Summary:
Ahmedabad, Oct 2 (PTI) For 59-year-old Hemant Chauhan, this could be the last birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi he is celebrating while living on the premises of Sabarmati Ashram here.
Some 250 families which lived for decades in the vicinity of the Ashram founded by the Mahatma are preparing to shift as the government has set in motion an ambitious project to redevelop the 55-acre precincts.
The association of some of these families with the Ashram dates back to the period when Gandhi himself lived here.
After returning from South Africa, the Mahatma established his first Ashram in Kochrab area of Ahmedabad on May 25, 1915.
It shifted to its present location on June 17, 1917.
In August this year, over 130 eminent personalities including historians Ramachandra Guha, Rajmohan Gandhi, retired High Court Justice AP Shah, and carnatic singer TM Krishna had issued a statement opposing the redevelopment project.