Big tourism push to Buddhist sites

Hyderabad: The Telangana State is planning to promote Buddhist sites in the state in a big way. The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation in association with Heritage Telangana is holding talks to promote half-a-dozen sites with potential. According to people in the know of things, stupas, viharas and aramas have been identified in Telangana state. The new sites are in Dharmapuri, Makkatropet, Nerella, Sarangapur, Buddeshpalli, Donuru, Pochampalli and Dharmaram.

There are several sites that have potential to attract tourists such as Kotilingala, Pashigam, Sthambampalli, Dhoolikatta, Phanigri, Gajula Banda, Tirumagiri, Nelakondapalli and Jaggaiahpeta, said a tourism department official.  These sites have already been identified earlier and are listed with the government.

According to Dr S Jaikishen, a historian, Buddism had its presence near the River Godavari. The spread of Buddhism began from here and early Buddhist influence has been recorded in this region. It spread well and reached Bodhan in Nizamabad and spread to the Telugu regions of South India, he added. 
Heritage Telangana found remains of viharas in the first phase of excavation in Phanigiri. A second stage of excavation is the demand by archeologists who are buoyed by the finding. The officials at Heritage Telangana are excited as the potential for tourism is immense especially from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and other countries. A senior official said, “Even now, a number of tourists from Sri Lanka visit the state and especially ask for Buddhist sites.