Ashoka Edict Park to be set up as Buddhist centre

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, December 8

Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel visited Topra Kalan village of Yamunanagar district on Saturday where the work of the Ashoka Edict Park is going on.

The minister said that the park would be developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre.

He was accompanied by Haryana Education and Tourism Minister Kanwar Pal and former Haryana minister Karan Dev Kamboj.

Sidhartha Gauri, general secretary of the Buddhist Forum, an NGO which is looking after the development work of Ashoka Edict Park, gave an overview of the making of the Ashoka Edict Park to the minister.

Gauri said that Rs 2 crore was being spent by the Tourism Department of Haryana to develop the Ashok Edict Park being developed on five acres of panchayat land.

He further briefed him that the Buddhist Forum had installed an Ashoka Chakra at Topra Kalan village, the biggest Ashoka Chakra of India.

“The Ashoka Chakra is of 30 feet and weighs six tonnes. The record of it being the biggest in India will be listed in the Limca Book of Records. On the behalf of the Buddhist Forum, a proposal has been given to the Tourism Minister to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the eve of Buddh Purnima in May 2020 to inaugurate to massive structures Astha Mangla Chhatrawali of 65 ft and four lion Ashokan pillar of 45 ft. These will be completed by that time,” said Gauri.

Union minister Prahlad Singh Patel visited the residence of Padma Shri Darshan Lal Jain, who is the president of Saraswati Shodh Sansthan. Jain apprised the minister about the developments in the ongoing work of the rejuvenation of Saraswati river in Yamunanagar district and Haryana. There was an exhaustive discussion on this matter.