Sri Lanka donates replica of Avukana Buddha statue to Telangana state of India

Sri Lanka has donated a replica of Avukana Buddha statue to the Telangana state of India to install in a Buddhist theme park being built in the Indian state.

The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), which has grand plans of developing and reconstructing Buddhist sites and monasteries in the state, has received the 27-feet replica of the standing Buddha statue from the Government of Sri Lanka, Times of India reported.

The Sriparvatarama (Buddhavanam) heritage theme park being developed at Nagarjunasagar is slotted to be the first Buddhist theme park in the country.

The statue has been donated under the Indo-Sri Lankan cultural exchange program and has been installed at the meditation area, Dhyanavanam, of the park.

The Government of Sri Lanka also donated Dhamma Bell and has shown interest in building their Sinhala-Vihara complex on the premises of Sriparvatarama (Buddhavanam).

The TSTDC expects more Buddhist organisations to commence their activities shortly according to TSTDC Chairman P. Ramulu. The authorities are expecting a good response from Southeast Asian countries too in the near future.