Bhubaneswar: Notwithstanding the presence of numerous Buddhist sites in Odisha and the state government’s efforts to showcase them at different fora to attract tourists, the Centre’s lackadaisical approach has played spoilsport.
The state boasts of some of the prominent Buddhist sites like Ratnagiri, Udayagiri, Lalitagiri –Diamond Triangle – and Langudi among others. The state government organises several road shows, Buddhist conclaves and conferences every year to attract tourists from the country and abroad. Several monks from the country and abroad attend these conferences.
Although the Centre has organised six International Buddhist Conclaves in states like Bihar, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 18, Odisha is yet to be picked as a venue for the event. As a result, the state is lagging behind in terms of publicity of Buddhist sites at the international level, rued some intellectuals. It is learnt that the state is losing around 5,000 tourists every year due to lack of publicity at national and global levels.
According to sources, the First International Buddhist Conclave was held in Delhi and Bodhgaya while its second edition was held at Nalanda and Bodhgaya in 2010. The third and fourth editions of the conclave were organised in Varanasi and Bodhgaya in 2012 and 2016.
Likewise, Varanasi and Bodhgaya hosted the fifth meet in 2016 while New Delhi and Maharashtra hosted the sixth conclave in 2018 (August 24 to 26).
These conclaves got active support from the respective state governments and representatives of about 29 countries participated. The Buddhist monks were ferried to famous sites like Rajgiri, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath and other places during the conclaves.
The Centre not choosing Odisha as the venue for the famous Buddhist conclave has invited resentment from several quarters. Meanwhile, several tour operators also criticised the Union government for not showcasing the tourist destinations of Odisha in these conclaves.
The Mahaparinirvan Express introduced by the Union Ministry of Railways in 2007 also does not cover Odisha though it passes through Bodhgaya, Rajgiri, Nalanda, Sarnath, Kashinagar Lumbini, Sarabasti and other Buddhist sites.
Though the issue was raised at the Buddhist conference here last month, a representative of the Centre said that the train runs through the north and eastern states whose governments had given proposals to the ministry in this regard.
“While Assam, Bihar and other states have evinced interest in hosting the mega conclave, there was no proposal from Odisha government,” said the official, sources said.
Odisha government should come forward and send a proposal to the ministry, stated the official.