'Need to take steps to attract tourists to Buddhist sites'

Jajpur: Seeking concrete steps to undertake massive excavation at Buddhist sites in Odisha, speakers at an international conference here said proper boarding and lodging facilities must be provided to attract more tourists to these places.

Flight operations to the state from different parts of the country should also be improved to promote tourism in Buddhist sites, they said at the inauguration ceremony of the three-day International Buddhist Conference at Udayagiri near here yesterday.

"Many historical things concerning Buddhism are still beneath the earth in the state. A proper and meticulous excavation activity by Archaeological Survey of India and state Archaeological department can unravel many mysteries," said State Election Commissioner Ajit Kumar Tripathy.

ASI and other agencies should need to speed up excavation activities and complete the work as soon as possible, he said.

Speaking at the function, Culture Secretary Arvind Padhee said ample employment opportunities exist in tourism sector and especially the Buddhist shrines and treasure must be protected and preserved.

"It is seen that many famous Buddhist shrines or sites are suffering damage due to the indiscriminate exploration of minor minerals of the land where the rarest Buddhist treasure located. Local revenue authorities are leasing out the patch of land surrounded by Buddhist sites for revenue generation for short term gain by which the lessees cause immense damage to these historical treasure," Padhee said.

The conference, inaugurated by local MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy, was participated by Utkal University of Culture's Vice Chancellor Debendranath Jena, its former VC Amiya Kumar Patnaik and Jajpur district collector Anil Kumar Samal .