Buddhist hotspots to get more funds

Ministry of Tourism (MoT) is expected to utilise its additional budgetary grant of Rs 500 crore, to upgrade Institute of Hotel Management Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition (IHMs) and to develop Buddhist circuit destinations like Sarnath, Sanchi, Bodhgaya, Kushinagar and Ajanta and Ellora. After the additional grant MoT’s total grant amounts to Rs 1,773 crore.

In a bid to woo more travellers from the ASEAN countries, government is looking at developing Buddhist circuit destinations, which lack even basic facilities. “We will be developing Varanasi as a hub for Buddhist destinations,” a senior official in the Ministry of Tourism told Express, requesting anonymity. “Even though the additional grant is not too much we would utilise it in the best possible manner,” he said.

The additional grant will also be used to upgrade the 21 central IHMs across the country. “

Earlier, Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi had many ministers of the South East Asian countries who would like to visit Buddhist hotspots of India, considering that the religion originated in India, there have been regular complaints about the lack of basic amenities at these destinations.

The government is looking at foreign funding too to upgrade infrastructure in the Buddhist circuit. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has inked a pact with the government for providing Rs 1,350 crore assistance for a highway project in Bihar which falls under the Buddhist circuit.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved the scheme for widening of Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section in the state last month.

The widening of the 127 km stretch, a part of the Buddhist Circuit which also serves as link road for the proposed world class international Nalanda University at Rajgir.

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The New Indian Express
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