MBK demands installation of Buddha relics at Lalitgiri

Kendrapara, Aug 21 (UNI) Mahanga Bikas Parishad(MBP),a local organisation today staged a demonstration demanding installation of relics of Lord Buddha at Lalitagiri, the place from where they were excavated in 1980s.

Hundreds of activists of the Parishad staged a demonstration near Olasuni chowk, on the Paradeep-Daitary Express highway,about 25 km from here and demanded that the state government and ASI should take adequate steps to return the sacred relics to its original place at Lalitagiri to preserve it for posterity.

Later, Parishad President Sarada Pradhan submitted a memorandum to Union Human Resources Minister through Darpan Additional Tehsildar urging the Centre and the ASI to consider their demand.

The activists alleged that the ASI and the state culture and tourism department were indifferent to their demands.

Earlier, the ASI Bhubaneswar circle had promised the locals to return the Buddha relics to its original place, but the recent decision of the state culture and tourism department and ASI to preserve the relics at Ratnagiri had hurt the sentiments of the Lalitagiri people.

During 1986, the ASI had unearthed three gold caskets containing the relics from the Lalitagiri Buddhist site and since then they were kept in ASI strong room at Bhubaneshwar.

UNI