The religious heads of twin cities — Gaya and Bodh Gaya — have appealed to the government to declare the two cities as vegetarian and dry zone.
A resolution to this effect was adopted at a joint meeting of the Mahabodhi Society of India (MSI) and Vishnupad Temple Management Committee. The meet was held at the Sri Lankan Mutt in Bodh Gaya.
The holy town of Bodh Gaya is the most sacred place for Buddhist, where nearly 2550 years ago, a young Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment and became Buddha. Later, he founded Buddhism — one of the world’s oldest religions.
Similarly, Gaya has its own religious significance due to Vishnupad Temple, where people throng from all over the country to pay obeisance to Lord Vishnu.
“At a meeting attended by the representatives of the different monasteries and Vishnupad Temple Management Committee, it was unanimously decided to urge the Bihar government to declare Gaya and Bodh Gaya as vegetarian and dry zone, much like the Uttarakhand government has done for the Char Dham, including Haridwar,” a source in the MSI said on Thursday.
“Gaya and Bodh Gaya are known as land of Vishnu and Lord Buddha respectively. Both preached non-violence. But, of late, sale of non-vegetarian food and liquor has increased manifold. It’s high time both the items are banned in the two religious towns to maintain the scared ambience,” the source said.
The general secretary of the Sri Lankan Mutt, Shivali Thero, suggested that the use of name of Lord Buddha for commercial purpose should be stopped immediately. “Many hotels, restaurants and other commercial establishments are being run in the name of Lord Buddha, where the owners and operators serve non-vegetarian food and liquor. This is totally against the principles of Buddha who preached non-violence and peace,” argued Thero.