Lord Buddha's relic to put Arunachal Pradesh monastery on world Buddhist tourist map

Lord Buddha's relic from Thailand to the Kongmu Kham or Golden Pagoda has put this monastery in Arunachal Pradesh on the world Buddhist tourism map.

The Golden Pagoda is located in the Namsai district of Arunachal Pradesh. The district was formed in 2015 and is the nascent district of the State. The district is inhabited mainly by the Tai Khamti indigenous people.

The relic was handed over by the Sangharaja of Thailand to the monastery on Monday. Thousands witnessed the ceremony. A 13 member Thai delegation had brought the relic to India.

Incidentally Sangharaja or the Supreme Patriarch is the head of the Buddhist monks in Thailand.

"The relic housed in the picturesque Kongmu Kham will definitely result in tourists specially Buddhists from all over the world visiting the monastery. It will further ties with South East Asian countries" stated Chowna Mein, Deputy Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh. Incidentally the State Government has been focusing on tourism in the eastern part of the State.

Arunachal Pradesh has 12 tourist circuits across an area of 83,500 sq km. The Golden pagoda falls under the Tinsukhia-Tezu-Hayuliang circuit.

The Union Government has also launched a Look East Policy of which tourism is an important component.

The relic was enshrined in the Golden Pagoda. The enshrining of the relic has been sponsored by Chief Minister Pema Khandu under the patronage of Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein.

Golden Pagoda is built on the lines of Burmese architectural design. It is spread over 20 hectares.

The Kongmu Kham boasts of an eco tourism complex. The complex comprises of 4 special suits, eight executive suits, two dormitories with a capacity of 20 beds each, a multi purpose Hall, a restaurant, an administrative block and an administrative block.

Speaking at a tourism conclave in Delhi in March this year, Dr Joram Beda, Tourism Secretary, Government of Arunachal Pradesh had stated "Arunachal Pradesh is investing to become the adventure and exotic tourism hub of India. We have been organising theme-based events like the Tawang festival, Ziro festival of music, Arunachal spring carnival, adventure at Mechuka as also the Kameng river festival. In 2017, we expect the number of tourist arrivals to grow exponentially." The State had received over 3.5 lakh domestic and foreign tourists in 2016.

OneIndia News