Chanting programme at Ratnagiri to promote Buddhist tourism

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to promote Buddhist tourism, Light of Buddha Dharma International (LBDF), Berkeley, California will organise a three-day Tripitaka Chanting Programme for World Peace and Tourism Promotion at Ratnagiri and Udayagiri in Odisha’s Jajpur district.

Odisha Tourism is providing adequate support for the programme which starts from December 19, said Ashok Chandra Panda, Minister, Tourism and Culture.

Panda said, there are 110 Buddhist monks, scholars and teachers from various countries like China, Thailand, Myanmar, Tibet and India, taking part in the Chanting programme. organized by Madam Wangomo Dixy, Executive Director, LBDF, in association with Odisha Tourism.

The three-day programme is scheduled to be organised with its official inauguration at Pathrajpur- Chanting at Udayagiri and Meditation at Ratnagiri in the district of Jajpur.

Odisha Tourism is inviting tour operators from Thailand, Bodhagaya, Delhi and Odisha to participate in the three-day chanting programme to establish Buddhist Heritage as a major tourist attraction of Odisha, said Tourism secretary Mona Sharma.

In the last two/three decades, hundreds of Buddhist sites were explored and many of them were excavated in Odisha ranging from 3rd century BC to 14th century AD, which becomes Odisha’s major tourism resource.

It is visible with the number of huge Buddhist settlement sites like Dhauli, Lalitgiri, Udayagiri, Ratnagiri, Langudi, Aragarh etc., that all present a scenic landscape, serene monumental remains (Stupas, Chaityas, Monasteries) and sublime metaphors (Buddha and Bodhisattvas).

These sites tell the story of the 2500 year’s heritage and culture of Odisha. These imposing Buddhist heritage Resources need to be promoted in the international market for the growth of tourism with an incredible heritage attraction.