NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), often considered the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, has returned to its old address in the capital following near completion of the renovation project spread across five lakh sq ft of built-up area over 3.75 acres, housing three 13-storey towers and around 300 rooms and offices, at a cost of `150 crore.
Keshav Kunj, the RSS office at Jhandewalan Road is set to feature state-of-the-art technologies with traditional Indian architecture, as per sources.
Those privy to the development said the rebuilding exercise cost nearly `150 crore collected through contributions from over 75,000 people sympathetic to the Hindutva organisation’s ideology and took over eight years, a period marked by the disruption and delay forced by the COVID-19 outbreak.
The three towers (ground floor plus 12 floors) are named Sadhna, Prerna and Archna, while one of its biggest auditoriums is named after Ashok Singhal, a leading Vishwa Hindu Parishad functionary closely linked to the Ram temple movement. This modern auditorium can seat 463 persons, while another hall can accommodate an audience of 650 members.
The RSS office has accommodation facility for its functionaries and members besides a library, health clinic and its sewage treatment plant, the sources said. It also has solar power facilities to provide for a part of its electricity needs.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale will be attending a “karyakarta sammelan” of the organisation’s Delhi unit on February 19 to mark the beginning of its work from the Jhandewalan office.
Speaking of the rebuilt office in the city, sources said RSS had been carrying out its activities out of a rented premises since 2016 after the renovation exercise began at the space out of which it had worked since 1962. The new premise, a vast change from the earlier two-storey building, fuses modern technology with ancient architectural practices to make it airy and exposed to ample sunlight, they said.