With a flight from Sri Lanka marking the beginning of operations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the third international airport of Uttar Pradesh in Kushinagar.
The flight carried Buddhist monks and Buddha’s relics brought from Waskaduwa Sri Subuddhi Rajvihaa Temple in Sri Lanka by the Mahanayaka of the temple. The monks were accompanied by Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister Namal Rajapaksha, who is also the son of Sri Lankan Prime Minister. Later in the day, Modi visited Mahaparinirvana Temple 1 in Kushinagar to mark the Abhidhamma day amidst monks both from Sri Lanka and India.
The airport, built on a 590-acre land at a cost of about Rs 260 crore, aims to promote Buddhist tourists from across the world, especially from places like Sri Lanka, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam to visit not just Kushinagar but also places associated with Buddha in the neighbouring region like Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Lumbini etc.
Modi said the airport will connect the regions of Kushinagar, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya as well as Kapilvastu, that have been associated with the different phases of Buddha’s life, to the rest of the world.
