Voorhees allows for the rezoning of property to build a world peace ‘think tank’
After moving to the U.S. with $8 in his pocket, Dr. Paritosh Chakrabarti moved through the ranks of international medicine — first, studying the industry, then starting a business of his own. Now, a multimillionaire from his Mount Laurel-based chemical company, PMC Group, he wants to use the money he’s earned to establish an interfaith think tank to research solutions to world peace and identify the origins of religious conflict.
The senior-living community, Centennial Mills, next door is opposed to Chakrabarti building his think tank next door to their property. Although, Chakrabarti named the think tank an “ashram” — which usually carries religious undertones — the institution itself is secular. However, the cloud of uncertainty around the ashram’s intent and its location has led to residents of Centennial Mills fiercely opposing the construction in Voorhees County Planning Board meetings.
The photos below were taken during a planning board meeting on April 11, 2019. The four-hour long meeting — that didn’t hold a final vote til midnight — resulted in the planning board deciding to allow rezoning of the proposed property for Chakrabarti’s ashram.
Click HERE to read the full story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
