JBIC offers to develop tourism in Buddhist circuit

Patna, Sep 11 (UNI) The Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) has offered a mammmoth grant of Rs 5,600 crore to Bihar for an all round development of the Buddhist circuit comprising Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Vaishali, Rajgir and Mangalgarh within the next two years.

Informing this, Bihar Tourism Secretary Anjani K Singh today said in view of the huge potential of the Buddhist circuit to attract millions of tourists from Japan and across the globe, the JBIC had offered to finance the complete overhauling of infrastructural and other facilities in the area to bring it at par with the top class tourist destinations elsewhere in the world.

He will be leaving for Tokyo this week to participate in a three- day-long Indian Tourism Conference there.

As part of the Rs 5,600 crore developmental package a four lane 481 km long highway would be constructed in central Bihar to connect all Buddhist religious places under the circuit, Mr Singh said adding that a number of world class guest houses and star hotels would also be build at each of these places under the circuit to accomodate large number of foreign tourists round the year.

This apart the JBIC fund, would be spent for complete overhauling of the exiting draingae system,lighting facilities and improvement of the landscapes of the areas under the Buddhist circuit to allow the foreign tourists to feel at home while staying in these places, Mr Singh informed.

Referring to the immense contribution of the people as well as the government of Japan to help beautifying several places of Buddhist pilgrimage in the Bihar, particularly those in Bodh Gaya and Rajgir, the tourism Secretary said, under the new package plans were afoot to construct two new Viswa Shanti Stupas at Rajgior and Vaishali at a cost of several hundred crores of rupees.

Asked about initiatives on the part of the Bihar government to attract more and more Buddhist tourists in the state, Mr Singh said in order to make the people in Japan and several other Buddhist countries more aware about the places of Buddhist interst in the state they had brought out a well documented travelogue for free distribution during the international conference.

''We have also prepared a documentary in Japanese language on annual celebrations of Buddha Mahotsava showcasing various aspects of Buddhist ferstivals in Bihar to attract more tourists from the land of the rising Sun'', Mr Singh said and hoped that follwing their proposed interaction with senior officials of the Japanese government and different tour operators in that country, the number of tourists in the Buddhist circuits of the state from Japan and several other South Asian countries would increase by several thousands from this year itself.

The government was also optimistic about receiving direct chartered flights from Tokyo, Manila and Bangkok to Patna airport bringing in plane loads of Buddhist tourists from different countries soon, Mr Singh opined.

UNI