A touch of S'pore in Bodh Gaya

In Bodh Gaya

A TOUCH of Singapore will soon come up in Bodh Gaya, the most important of the four main pilgrim sites related to the life of Gautama Buddha.

A Singapore Pilgrims House will take its place alongside similar facilities set up in this ancient Buddhist holy town by Thailand, Japan, China, Sri Lanka and several other countries, Foreign Minister George Yeo said after a call on Mr Nitish Kumar, chief minister of India's eastern state of Bihar.

'The Bihar chief minister has offered us two plots of land, both very good,' said Mr Yeo, speaking in Patna, the Bihar capital. 'We will choose one and I hope work on this will begin very quickly. I want to thank the chief minister on behalf of the entire Singapore Buddhist community.'

Bodh Gaya, in Bihar's Gaya district, is the site where Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. The area, along with nearby Buddhist sites such as Nalanda and Varanasi, draws thousands of visitors every year. Mr Yeo, accompanied by delegates from the Singapore Buddhist Federation and Singapore Buddhists Lodge, was on a three-day trip to the eastern Indian state to participate in the final meeting of the Nalanda Mentor Group, set up to revive the world's most ancient seat of learning.

Singapore was initially offered a 2.6 acre of land for the pilgrim centre, at a nominal fee. With land on both sides held by private parties who apparently are willing to sell, the site held excellent prospects to be developed as a large facility.

There is no restriction on building height, people familiar with the plans said.

On Thursday, the Venerable Shi Kwong Sheng, President of the Singapore Buddhist Federation and Mr Toh Soon Huat, Director of the Singapore Buddhists Lodge, visited the site. They were accompanied by Member of Parliament Yeo Guat Kwang, who is the project adviser.

However, when Mr Nitish Kumar hosted Mr Yeo and others of the Mentor Group to dinner on Friday night, he seems to have delivered a surprise by offering an even bigger plot of land to Singapore.

Yesterday, Foreign Minister Yeo, the Buddhist leaders and senior officials checked out the second piece of land before boarding a flight to Bangkok en route to Singapore.

Mr Yeo last visited Bodh Gaya in 2002, when the Mahabodhi Temple here was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Source: straitstimes.com