Many holy places around the world earn a good amount of money from spiritual tourism every year. However, Bodh Gaya, a place of equal spiritual importance to Buddhists, is not able to attract as many tourists as it should. The Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya, Bihar is one of the most important Buddhist places of worship in the world. It is believed to be where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment, making it very important to Buddhists around the world.
As a result, there is a high demand for infrastructural development and improvements in the Mahabodhi corridor to accommodate the large number of pilgrims and tourists who visit the site every year. While talking to ANI, Suresh Singh, President of Bodh Gaya Tourism Association said, “Bodh Gaya is totally dependent on tourists and these tourists are religious; they have faith. We have been demanding for a long time that a Buddhist corridor should be built for the tourists who come to Bodh Gaya, but we cannot move it. The government should focus on it.”
“Every Buddhist in 27 or 28 countries around the world wants to come here. We put our point before the government that it should be developed in such a way that tourists come to Bodh Gaya throughout the year but the flights stop after March. We will have to tell them that you can come here all year round; it has all the amenities,” he added. Suresh Singh further said that the government should make such arrangements that there should be a special train from Banaras to Gaya so that tourists can come here easily.
“I have demanded from the government, just like there is a CMCH in the south, a Buddhist medical college should be opened in Gaya. Those who have religious feelings related to Buddhism will come for treatment. If tourists come, Gaia will benefit. Governments should pay attention to Bodh Gaya, which is the highest earner of foreign exchange in Bihar,” he said. Sudama Kumar, general secretary of the hotel association, said that the Bodh Gaya corridor is a real demand for tourists.
“You can see the corridor in Varanasi that changed the whole system. Many more tourist spots could have been developed, but this did not happen. Bodh Gaya comes particularly as a heritage site, but its development was not consistent. Like Niranjana for example a river in our Bodhgaya. The continuous sand is removed, which has reduced the water level in the river.
While talking to ANI, one of the Buddhist monks said that Bodhgaya lacks hospital facilities and a world-class hospital should be built here.
This story was published by a wire agency feed with no text changes. Only the title has been changed.
