Chamling greets His Holiness Dalai Lama at Ravangla

Buddha Park to be inaugurated tomorrow

Ravangla March 24: Top officials of the Sikkim Government including the Chief Minister Pawan Chamling received His Holiness, the XIVth Dalai Lama with a rousing welcome who reached Ravangla today around 3 p.m. Dalai Lama will inaugurate the Tathagatha Tsal (Buddha Park) scheduled for tomorrow.

Chamling received Dalai Lama at the Ravangla helipad where devotees had already thronged from all walks of life from nook and corner of the state. Monks from the Chokerling Monastery gave a warm reception while Chamling escorted the Dalai Lama to the Buddha Park Guest House. The spiritual leader who has been in conflit with the Chinese government for the Tibet issue will however be residing at the guest house during the visit sources said. Chamling however citing busy schedule returned to Gangtok and will be reaching Ravangla for the main programme.

The Buddha Park to be inaugurated tomorrow is expected to give a fillip to the Buddhist tourism circuit and has been named after the spiritual leader Tathagatha Tsal. The project had been started in the year 2006 and was completed this year. The Tsal has been blended with relics of Lord Buddha from nine different countires. The cost of the project has been pegged at Rs. 39.20 crore spread over 23 acres of land provided by the Rabong monastery. The Buddha statue is 137 feet 22 inches high and the face coated with 3.5 kgs of gold brought from Bangkok. The first ever Buddhist circuit of the state is tallest metal statue of Lord Buddha all over the world.  It has also been claimed to be Buddha’s tallest sitting statue of the world.