VIJAYAWADA: On his arrival at the Gannavaram airport, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was visibly elated for touching down on the soil where Acharya Nagarjuna once walked as part of his world tour.
It is the Dalai Lama’s second occasion to visit this part of India in a decade, the last one being for the Kala Chakra initiation which he bestowed at Amaravati town in Guntur district in 2006. The renowned Tibetan Buddhist monk is now in the city to take part in the National Women’s Parliament (NWP), which gets under way at Ibrahimpatnam on Friday.
Official reception
He was accorded an official reception by Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Kodela Siva Prasada Rao and Ministers Palle Raghunadha Reddy and Devineni Umamaheswara Rao.
The Ministers thanked the Dalai Lama for honouring their invitation to bless the participants at the NWP and share his valuable thoughts on the theme ‘Empowering women - strengthening democracy’.
In a brief chat with the media before proceeding to a hotel in Vijayawada, the Dalai Lama said he was happy to visit Amaravati, the emerging capital city of A.P, and wished it all success.
“Where there is peace, there will be development. I hope the State will make all-round progress,” he observed, and exhorted youth to contribute their might to protect the rich culture and heritage of India.
Amaravati visit cancelled
Guntur Staff Reporter writes: The Dalai Lama’s visit to the Dhyana Buddha statue in Amaravati was cancelled at the last minute on Thursday as he was “not well and advised rest.”
He was to have visited the 125-foot statue of the Buddha in meditative posture on the banks of the Krishna. Tight security was provided at the venue with police expecting a sizeable crowd. Locals had no information about the arrival of the Dalai Lama. Collector Kantilal Dande and Superintendent of Police K. Narayan Naik, who reached the venue in the morning, returned to Guntur.
