Itanagar, Dec 19 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday dedicated a state guest house to the people of the state at Gaya in Bihar.
The guest house besides offering accommodation to Buddhist pilgrims from Arunachal Pradesh, will also double up as a convention and cultural centre.
Speaking on the occasion, Khandu profusely expressed gratitude to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for allotting the land to the Arunachal Pradesh government for the construction of the guest house.
He said that it was a dream project of his father, former chief minister Dorjee Khandu to have a facility for Buddhist followers of the state who throng Gaya at least once a year, an official communique said here.
Bodh Gaya is one of the most religiously important places in India. Gaya, as a pilgrimage site, is revered by both Buddhists and Hindus. It specifically holds a very important place in Buddhism as Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment in the city.
“Hundreds of pilgrims from our state, especially from the districts of West Kameng and Tawang come here, particularly during the winters. The dormitories in the guest house are specifically designed to accommodate devotees. With this one of my late father’s incomplete dreams and aspirations of the Buddhist people of my state have been fulfilled,” Khandu said.
He recalled that Dorjee Khandu, as the then chief minister in 2011, had written a letter to his Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar seeking a plot of land for construction of a guest house.
Unfortunately, barely a couple of months later, he died in a tragic helicopter crash near Tawang.
“In fact, when I met Nitish Kumar for the first time, he mentioned that he had received the letter from my father on the day when the tragic incident was flashing all over news channels. On my request to take the project forward, he promptly responded and allotted us the plot of land and also ensured that all-out support was rendered to us by the Bihar government and local administration,” Khandu said.
The new G-plus-4 guest house built at a cost of Rs 15 crore boasts of 47 rooms including dormitories with a capacity to accommodate 201 guests.
Present on the occasion were Lhaygyala Rinpoche, Abott of Namgyal Monastery, Dharmasala, Jetsun Pema, sister of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tawang MLA Tsering Tashi, DoKAA Chairman Jambey Wangdi, representatives of the office of the Dalai Lama, officials of Gaya district administration, the communique added. PTI UPL UPL RG
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