Ahead of Sri Lankan PM visit, security beefed up in UP's Varanasi

Security has been beefed up here ahead of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's visit to the city on Sunday.

Rajapaksa, who is arriving in the national capital on a three-day visit to India today, will visit the Varanasi city of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.

During his stay in the holy town, he will visit religious sites of Varanasi and Sarnath.

He will also visit the Sarnath Museum, which exhibits the Buddhist Cultural wealth, recovered from the site of Lord Buddha's first sermon at deer park Mrigadava in Sarnath.

The Sri Lankan leader will also visit Bodhgaya in Bihar and Tirupati.

During his stay in the capital, Rajapaksa will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

There has been a series of high-level visits between the two neighbours with Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksha choosing India as the first destination to visit after he assumed his office as the president immediately after his election victory in November.