Gujarat govt signs MoU for conservation promotion of Buddhist heritage sites

Ahmedabad, Dec 10 (PTI) The Gujarat government on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Bihar-based institute to conserve and promote Buddhist heritage and places in the state, an official said.
    As per a release, the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) and BodhiGaya Vijjalaya 980 Institute signed the MoU in Gandhinagar in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and members of the 4th Mekong Ganga Dhamma Yatra delegation.
    The agreement has been signed for cooperation in the conservation and development of Buddhist tangible and intangible heritage in Gujarat and for global promotion of places of Buddhist circuit in the state, the release said.
    The 4th Mekong Ganga Dhamma Yatra started in Bangkok, Thailand, and the delegation of this yatra is visiting different parts of India from December 2 to 10.
    Representatives of the yatra meeting Chief Minister Patel in Gandhinagar after visiting the remains of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Vadnagar, the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the release said.
    The delegation also visited a Buddhist archaeological site at Dev Ni Mori in north Gujarat as part of their trip.
    During the meeting, the representatives of the yatra informed Patel that the aim of this historic journey from Thailand to India is to deepen the cultural and spiritual connections between the Mekong and Ganga civilisations, it said.
    They said the yatra aims to spread the teachings of Buddhism around the world, raise public awareness towards the environment, and promote peace.
    Patel urged social media influencers of Thailand to come to Gujarat and make people of their country and the world familiar with the historical Buddhist heritage, the release said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)