Ex-US President Barack Obama, Dalai Lama to visit Karnataka in December

A delegation led by an American doctor Dr Lakshminarasimha Murthy along with Mandya District In-Charge Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking assistance to provide facilities in Hallegere village such as helipad, road, drains, electricity, drinking water etc, the CMO said in a statement.

A delegation led by the Dr Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy, president of Bhutayi Trust, Hallegere in Mandya and father of US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday requesting adequate infrastructure for the visit of former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to Mandya in December this year.

The couple is expected to lay the foundation stone for an international yoga and meditation centre - Earth Worship Centre - being built by the Trust in Hallegere. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama is also expected to take part in the event. 

Accompanied by Mandya District Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy, Murthy requested for a helipad, apart from improving road, drains, electricity and drinking water facilities in Hallegere.

Siddaramaiah responded positively to the request, according to a statement from his office.

Dr Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy is an NRI hailing from Hallegere. In a 13-acre spread of inherited land here, the family, through the Trust, has planned an international yoga and meditation centre at a cost of Rs 80 crore. 

The centre is expected to have a 11-ft-tall statue of Mother Earth, along with statues of various philosophers.