Virendra Singh Rawat
Lucknow / Dec 26, 2021
The Uttar Pradesh government will tap the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance Buddhist Circuit projects in the state.
In UP, the Buddhist Circuit primarily spans six hubs viz. Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Kaushambi and Sansika.
On Friday, UP chief secretary R K Tiwari conferred with ADB Country Director, India, Takeo Konishi on the agenda of composite development of the Circuit and the financing of projects.
Now, the UP tourism and culture department will prepare a detailed concept note or preliminary project report (PPR) regarding the proposed development of Buddhist tourism sites with ADB funds.
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Meanwhile, Konishi briefed Tiwari about ADB’s possible role in the development matrix of the Circuit, which attracts a large number of domestic and global backpackers. The UP government has apprised ADB of land availability for undertaking greenfield and brownfield projects.
On the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bodhgaya in Bihar is being positioned as a global Buddhist centre, and efforts are being made for developing the Buddhist Circuit spanning both UP and Bihar.
These projects pertain to infrastructure development, connectivity, basic infra, local community development, handicrafts, skill development, socioeconomic development, branding and publicity etc.