BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the stakeholders in tourism industry to promote Odisha’s Buddhist sites.
At the valedictory function of the 4th Kalinga International Buddhist Conclave here, Naveen said Odisha was the focal point for spread of Buddhism. “The Government aims to promote the rich Buddhist legacy of Odisha.
Whether Buddha visited the State or not may be matter of debate, but no one can deny the prominent position Buddhism had in Kalinga, even before the Kalinga War,” he said and added that Odisha is the only State with a unique distinction of having a continuous living tradition of Buddhism in villages like Maniabandha, Naupatna, Ragadi and Mahammadpur.
Speaking on the occasion, Tourism Director Nitin Jawale said the Tourism Department has a target to provide quality infrastructure services in all Buddhist sites in the next one year. While promotional activities in six South Asian countries will be increased, there are also plans to bring Buddhist relics that were excavated from Lalitgiri to the State Museum for public viewing at regular intervals. They will be finally relocated from the strong room of the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) Bhubaneswar circle office to a museum near Lalitgiri by the end of December.
The three-day conclave saw participation of around 200 international and national scholars of Buddhism, tour operators, monks from various monasteries, travel bloggers and writers.
During the event, the delegates visited a number of Buddhist sites and also took part in a mass chanting at Dhauli peace pagoda.