The G-20 meeting cannot be held in Bihar’s Nalanda despite its glorious history because the heritage city lacks tourism infrastructure and airport, Union minister of culture and tourism, G Kishan Redyy, has said. The minsiter, however, added that special arrangements will be made for the delegates if they are interested in visiting Nalanda.
“At present University is UNESCO World Heritage Site. But despite the glorious history of Nalanda, the G-20 meeting which is slated in Bihar also, cannot be held here,” Reddy said at the 4th convocation of the Nav Nalanda Mahavihar, a deemed University at Nalanda.
“The G-20 meeting will be held in Patna and if the delegates would be interested, special arrangements would be made for them for their Nalanda visit,” he added.
Nalanda has been the land of knowledge and learning and has been known mainly for the ancient Nalanda University.
Nearly 200 G-20 meetings have been planned at 56 places in our country including in Bihar Bihar this year. And these meetings are expected to be attended by more than one lakh foreign delegates.
“It would have been great to have a G-20 meeting at Nalanda. But for this Nalanda needs to have airport and many other tourism infrastructures. It’s sad that Nalanda lost this opportunity because of the lack of air connectivity facilities,” said Kaulesh Kumar, adviser to the ministry of tourism and secretary, All Buddha Tourism Organisation (ABTO).
He added that an airport at Nalanda and air connectivity of the heritage city have remained as a long-standing demand of the people here.
“The tour planners have especially been insisting over it. A few months ago, when chief minister Nitish Kumar was at Rajgir to launch the Ganga Jalapurti Yojna, locals reminded him of the need of an airport at Nalanda,” he said.
Kumar said the state government was eager for that and was ready to provide land for this purpose at Nalanda, but the proposal has remained pending at the Union government level.
“Initiative in this direction was started by the state government in 2009. Even a patch of land was identified near Silao. But the plan never materialised for one or another reasons,” he added.
