Buddhavanam Special Officer Mallepalli Laxmaiah met Sri Lankan Minister for Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Viduravikramanayake in Colombo. During the meeting, Laxmaiah invited the Minister to visit the Buddhavanam project at Nagarjunasagar. He also explained the unique features of the Buddhist theme park and informed him about the new project called ‘The 2500 years journey of Buddhism’.
The new project will showcase the spread of Buddhism in South-East Asian countries through separate cave-like structures for each country. Laxmaiah invited the Minister to attend the foundation stone laying ceremony for this project on October 14.
In response to the invitation, Viduravikramanayake suggested establishing a Sri Lanka-Telangana Friendship centre in Hyderabad. This center would facilitate cultural exchange and academic programs between Sri Lanka and Telangana. Meetings would be held alternately in Hyderabad and Colombo every three months.
Dr Sivanagireddy, a Buddhist expert consultant for the Buddhavanam project, informed the Minister about the 1700-year-old Buddhist connection between the Telugu and Sri Lankan people.
Laxmaiah also met with Somarathne Vidanapathirana, the Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, and invited him to visit Buddhavanam. The Secretary responded positively to the invitation and presented Laxmaiah with a book on 2600 years of Buddhatva. Prof Gamini Ranasinghe, Director General of the Central Cultural Fund in Sri Lanka, and Dr E Sivanagireddy were also present during both events.
