PM Modi to inaugurate Kushinagar airport, put key Buddhist site on global tourism map

The Kushinagar International Airport's inauguration will be marked by landing of the inaugural flight at the airport from Colombo, carrying the Sri Lankan delegation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, putting the prominent Buddhist pilgrimage site on the world tourism map.

The inaugural flight from Sri Lanka will land at the airport on Wednesday with relics of the Buddha from the Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihara Temple which will be open to the public for veneration.

Over 100 Buddhist monks, including anunayakas of all four orders of Buddhism in Sri Lanka – Asigiriya, Amarapura, Ramanya and Malwatta – will accompany the relics of the Buddha on the inaugural flight.

Namal Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan Minister of Youth and Sports and the son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, will also lead a five-member ministerial delegation to Kushinagar on the occasion.

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The airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 260 crore and will facilitate domestic and international pilgrims to visit the 'mahaparinirvana' site of Lord Buddha and is an endeavour to connect the Buddhist pilgrimage holy sites around the world, a Prime Minister's Office statement said.

The airport will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting investment and employment opportunities in the region.

It added that the Prime Minister will also participate in an event marking 'Abhidhamma Day' at the Mahaparinirvana Temple in Kushinagar before attending a public function to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects.

At the Mahaparinirvana Temple, Modi will pay his respects to the reclining statue of Lord Buddha and also plant a Bodhi tree sapling.

The 'abhidhamma' day symbolises the end of a three-month rainy retreat – 'varshavaas' or 'vassa' – for the Buddhist monks during which they stay at one place in vihara and monastery and pray.

The event will also be attended by eminent monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan and Cambodia, as well as ambassadors of various countries.

The PMO said Modi will walk through the exhibition of paintings of Ajanta frescos, Buddhist sutra calligraphy and Buddhist artefacts excavated from Vadnagar and other sites in Gujarat.

At a public event, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of Rajkiya Medical College, Kushinagar which will be built at a cost of over Rs 280 crore.

The college will have a 500-bed hospital and provide admissions to 100 students in MBBS course in the academic session 2022-2023.

He will also inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 12 development projects worth over Rs 180 crore, it added.

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