Bihar asks Centre to help generate funds for Heritage Corridor

Bihar has sought financial support from Centre for development of heritage corridor which will connect heritage sites and monuments boosting tourism in the state.

“The Heritage Corridor is virtually a plan to connect all major monuments and heritage sites, mainly those in the Buddhist circuit in the state through smooth, multiple lane roads. There’s a need for good roads to provide tourists a smooth and safe journey to the tourist destinations. For this, we need financial support,” Bihar road construction minister Nitin Navin said about his Wednesday meeting with minister of state for finance and corporate affairs Anurag Singh Thakur in Delhi.

Bihar is home to a number of monuments and sites related to Lord Buddha, frequented by foreign and domestic tourists and the government aims to connect all major Buddhist sites in the state-- Stupa at Vaishali, ancient university remains at Nalanda, the Rajgir sites, Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, Kesaria Stupa and Ashokan pillars at Lauriya Nandangarh and Rampurva in Champaran--and Kapilvastu in Uttar Pradesh.

The road construction minister said that department will soon be preparing a preliminary project report (PPR). “The number of sites which can be covered in this corridor and the feasibility of their road connectivity will be reviewed in the PPR. Once it will be okayed, we will get the detailed project report (DPR) prepared,” he said. The estimated cost of the project will depend on the length of the network of roads, he added.

Navin said it will be better if the project gets financial aid from some foreign funding agency. “We have suggested a few names such as JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) in this regard,” he said and added that Thakur assured him of all possible help. “He also asked us to submit the detailed project report (DPR) of the proposal”.

The Bihar minister said the state will soon also start working on development of roads at non-Buddhist heritage sites and shrines. ‘We have many sites related to Lord Buddha and Goddess Sita, covered under the Ramayan circuit and the Jain sites. We will work over these in the next phase,” he said.