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LUMBINI |
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LUMBINI |
Waiting For Visitors Despite efforts to popularize, the birth place of Gautam Buddha is yet to attract more tourists By KESHAB POUDEL in Bhairahawa Although it was opened for tourists nearly four decades ago, Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha, is yet to be popular among people from Buddhist countries. Millions of rupees have already been spent to popularize Lumbini but it is yet to lure large number of tourists. In the last one decade, many countries have already built their own stupas in the sacred garden of the Lumbini. Construction of pilgrims rest houses and other buildings are also going on. At a time when different countries are making efforts to help develop the Lumbini site, the worry is why the tourists are not coming here. Although number of tourists visiting Lumbini is on the rise, it is not sufficient enough to run even a couple of hotels in the vicinity of the sacred place. According to the available data, the number of foreign visitors to the Lumbini are less than 5,000 a year. Lumbini is regarded as one of the holiest place for Buddhists in the world. The two place where Gautam Buddha was enlightened and died lies in India where thousands of tourists flock every year. Lumbini was recognized as the birth place of Gautam Buddha by the United Nations. It was the initiative of then Secretary General U Thant who played important role to seek recognition for Lumbini. Since early 1968, various phases of development work have been carried out both by Nepal and UN. Lumbini, where Gautam Buddha was born in 623 B.C is one of the most scared places for Buddhist pilgrims. A master plan was also designed by the world-renowned Japanese architect Kenzo Tange for the development of Lumbini. Lying to the south of Kathmandu, there are around seven flights a day to Bhairahawa city which is close to Lumbini site but only a few tourists could be seen in the middle of May. |
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