HYDERABAD: The State government is developing historical Buddhist sites in Telangana with an aim to develop the State into a destination for Buddhist pilgrimage in the country, remarked Minister for Tourism V Srinivas Goud.
Speaking at the two-day international ‘Telangana Bouddha Sangiti 2019’ seminar held in the city on Saturday, Goud stated that even though the State did not have many people practising Buddhism, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was making efforts to save and revive Buddhist sites.
Jointly held by the Buddhavanam Project of Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) and the Heritage Department at Dr MCR HRD Institute, the international seminar was attended by delegates from 17 countries and showcased many artefacts.
Recounting the principles of Buddhism, Goud said, “Everyone praises Buddhism, but fails to implement the ideals of Buddha. We are living in a caste and religion ridden society. When the inequalities in terms of caste and creed go away, only then a man can be treated as a man as envisioned by Buddha.”
The Minister directed officials from the Archaeological Survey of India, Hyderabad Circle, to write to their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh to hand over artefacts which were excavated from Telangana, especially from Nagarjuna Sagar.
Mallepally Laxmaiah, special officer of the Buddhavanam Project, said that they organised the international event to have discussions on Buddhist archaeology in the State and to deliberate on how to sketch a plan to evolve it. “The State government is planning to establish a Buddhavanam Knowledge City along with a museum spread in 15 to 20 acres on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the next few years,” Laxmaiah added.