Buddha's trail to be developed as tourist site

NEW DELHI: The Bihar government has decided to develop a 7-km stretch, believed to be the route taken by Gautam Buddha to reach Rajgir, as an international tourist site in the state.

Inaugurating the Rajgir Mahotsava-2011 yesterday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made an announcement to develop the Buddha route -- the seven km stretch between Rajgir and Bodh Gaya -- as an international tourist site.

"Jethiyan, the place where Buddha first arrived from Bodh Gaya has a great potential for an international tourist site. There are hot and cold water lakes with medicinal values which could also be an important place for health tourism," Kumar said.

The three-day event aims to showcase rich culture of the state along with its modern social dimensions to woo both international and domestic tourists.

Besides local culture and artifacts which will be displayed during the festival, several Bollywood personalities would perform there to popularise the event.