Former US president Obama and Dalai Lama to visit Karnataka’s Mandya in December

They will lay the foundation stone for the International Yoga and Meditation Centre to be built in Hallegere
By: Express News Service
Bengaluru | Updated: September 2, 2023 09:02 IST
Former US president Barack Obama and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will visit Mandya in Karnataka in December to lay the foundation stone for the International Yoga and Meditation Centre, a release from the chief minister’s office said Thursday.

A delegation consisting of Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy and Dr Lakshminarasimha Murthy of the Bhutayi Trust, which is constructing the centre, and others met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and discussed with him the arrangements to be made for the visits.
Dr Murthy is the father of Dr Vivek Hallege Murthy, who was surgeon general under Obama and US president Joe Biden. Hallegere, where the yoga centre will come up in Mandya district, is the native village of the Murthy family of physicians.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah responded positively on providing a helipad and other infrastructure required for the visits by Obama and Dalai Lama, said the release from the chief minister’s office.
LC Dinesh Gooligowda, who was part of the delegation, said the centre would be built on 13-acre land owned by the family in the village. “It will cost around Rs 80-100 crore to construct and will serve people of all communities,” he said.