The Andhra Pradesh government is all set to open a Buddhist Heritage Theme Park ‘Buddhavanam’ in the State.
The heritage park will come up at Nagarjunasagar enroute to Amaravati. ‘Buddhavanam’, coming up on 279 acres of land on the left bank of Krishna River, is divided into eight segments with an elegant entrance plaza to create an ambient atmosphere of Buddhism, depicting Buddhist motifs, symbols and also ‘Dharma Chakra’, AP Tourism Development Corporation officials said.
Another 35 acres of land has been allotted to set up a Vipasana centre and for other Buddhist organisations for construction of their respective monasteries.
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The segments include Buddhacharitavanam, Bodhisattva park (Jataka park), Dhyanavanam (meditation park), Stupa park, Acharya Nagarjuna International Centre for Higher Buddhist Learning, Krishna Valley, Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh and a Mahastupa (replica of Amaravathi) which symbolically represent the ‘Astangamarga’ propounded by Buddha, they said.
The project, taken up at a tentative cost of Rs 22 crores, is proposed to be thrown open to the public on the occasion of the 2558th Buddha Jayanthi Day celebration on May 14, an APTDC official said.