Biradari overshadows tourism development in Kushinagar, say monks

CASIA (KUSHINAGAR): Kushinara, as kushinagar is known among followers of Buddha is more than just a tourist spot. It is a place where they feel the pain their lord breathed his last, a source of constant energy and inspiration and a must-visit at least once in a life time for them.
On any given day, some 200 devotees from Thailand, Burma, China, Cambodia, Japan, China or Srilanka may be seen praying in Kushinagar.But the ‘international tourist destination’ has no direct connectivity, a long pending demand of the monks including 200 voters living in various pagodas here.
With political candidates rallying behind the monks who have considerable influence on the locals, the demand is also echoing. But monks know that ‘biradari overshadows tourism development in Kushinagar’. “The involvement of locals and political will is lacking. Each elections when we voice our requests, netas promise to take things forward but the pace of growth is very slow. Actually, the focus is biradari and not development and that has been the case in the past six decades,” said Bhandante Bhikshu, Gyaneshwar, the chief of Mahasukhamdada Chin Thargyi Pagoda or the Burmese temple.
Citing examples, he said, “I came here in 1954 and the monks had been pressing for declaring Kushinagar as a separate district. But that could happen in 1997 during Mayawati’s regime. The Kushinagar Airport project has been gathering dust for the past ten years and I don’t know if that will happen in my lifetime or not.”
Former director of the Baudh Shodh Sansthan Bhiukku Chandima stated that while foreigners book AC buses, Indian devotees and tourists suffer because of tourist facilities in Kushinagar are not an election issue. The ignorance becomes ironical keeping in mind that more than eight lakh tourists visit Kushinagar alone in a year. Over 90% of these visitors are Indians.
“A pilgrim will have to take a rickety bus from Gorakhpur to reach Kushinagar. Reaching Gorakhpur from any part of India is no less than a day which deters most. While foreign Buddhists will find a place to stay in their pagodas, Indian pilgrims have only three hotels with a total capacity of 60 to choose from,” he said.
TK Roy, who runs a café in Kushinagar for the past 25 years, stated that the monks submitted a proposal to the state government demanding starting AC bus service to connect Kushinagar with Sunauli, Bodhgaya, Sravasti and Sarnath but it is gathering dust. “For years we are hearing about the Buddhist circuit plan. Last year, talks about a Buddha walk in Kushinagar was also heard. But no plan takes off,” he said.
The monks also want the Mahaparinirvan sthali to be treated like a temple and not a tourist spot. “It is where we pray. But we are at the mercy of the Archaeological Survey of India chowkidar who doesn’t open the gates without bakshish. We cannot hold early morning or evening prayers in the place because the ASI timing doesn’t allow,” said Bhadante Gyaneshwar adding, “we write to administration and politicians but to no avail.”
KEY POINTS

Statistics
Tourist footfall in Kushinagar over the years
2016 -- 8.98
2015 -- 8.74
2014 -- 8.40
2013 -- 8.12
2012 -- 7.97
(all figures in Lakh / source: State Tourism Directorate).
Quote:
Kushinagar was lying in oblivion till Mayawati renamed Padrauna on the insistence of the monks. The demand to connect Kushinagar with bus, rail or air was placed way back in 1997. It is yet to see light of the day. – Bhadante Gyaneshwar, chief of monks.