NEW DELHI, Feb 7: The Central Government is planning to develop Buddhist religious sites in the country for religious tourism, the Lok Sabha was informed today. In a related report laid on the table of the House, Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge) K Chiranjeevi said the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has already identified areas to be developed as Buddhist circuits in the country with the help of Central/state governments and private stake holders. These areas would be developed in three different Buddhist circuits – The Dhamayatra or the Sacred circuit, Extended Dharamyatra or extended sacred circuit or retracing Buddha’s footsteps and Buddhist Heritage Trails. The first one will be a five-seven day circuit and will include visits to Gaya (Bodhgaya), Varanasi (Sarnath), Khusinagar, Piparva (Kapilvastu) with a day trip to Lumbini in Nepal, the report said.
The second one will a 10-15 days circuit and will include visit to Bodhgaya (Nalanda, Rajgir, Barabar caves, Pragbodhi Hill, Gaya), Patna (Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Areraj and other areas.
The third circuit will include areas like Ladakh, Srinagar and Jammu, Dharamshala and Sanghon, it added. Mr Chiranjeevi said while identifying the designated circuits, efforts were being made to plug infrastructure gaps by rail, road linkage and provide better amenities to tourists. (UNI)
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