AP to promote Buddhist tourism

The Andhra Pradesh state tourism department has earmarked Rs 25.99 crore for the promotion of Buddhist tourism in the state.

The government is in the process of considering areas with strong Buddhist heritage as notified tourism areas. It has identified Buddhist tourism as an important segment to attract both domestic and foreign tourists from East and Southeast Asian regions, mainly from Japan, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Singapore, a release said.

The state would develop three Buddhist circuits at Visakhapatnam, Amaravathi and Nagarjunakonda, with an estimated investment of Rs 5.72 crore, Rs 4 crore and Rs 1.75 crore respectively. It has proposed to develop Buddhist sites, monuments and Buddhist clusters at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

A unique Buddhist theme park, Buddhavanam, would also be set up at Nagarjunakonda at a cost of Rs 16.36 crore. Facilities including entrance arch, information centres, ticketing counter, museum, tourist amenities, open air theatres, stupas, interpretation centres, landscaping, amphi theatres, bronze statues, restaurant and signages will also be developed.

The Buddha statue at Hussainsagar in Hyderabad is the biggest monolithic statue in the world carved out from a single rock. To mark the 2555th Buddha Jayanthi celebration, the tourism department today inaugurated a LED-based multicolor lighting system near the statue.