Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday to inaugurate the Kushinagar International Airport.

The Prime Minister will also take part in an event marking Abhidhamma Day at Mahaparinirvana temple, the place where Gautam Buddha attained spiritual salvation or Nirvana.

Modi will later lay the foundation stone of Rajkiya Medical College at Kushinagar besides the foundation stones for various development projects in the city, according to a PMO note here.

The inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport will be marked by the landing of the inaugural flight at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka, carrying a Sri Lankan delegation of over a hundred Buddhist Monks & dignitaries including the 12-member Holy Relic entourage bringing the Holy Buddha Relics for Exposition. The delegation also comprises of Anunayakas (deputy heads) of all four Nikatas (orders) of Buddhism in Sri Lanka such as Asgiriya, Amarapura, Ramanya, Malwatta as well as five ministers of the Government of Sri Lanka led by Cabinet Minister Namal Rajapakshe.

The Kushinagar International Airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs. 260 crore. It will facilitate domestic & international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvana sthal of Lord Buddha and is an endeavor in connecting the Buddhist pilgrimage holy sites around the world. The airport will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting the investment & employment opportunities in the region.

Prime Minister will visit the Mahaparinirvana temple, offer Archana and Chivar to the reclining statue of Lord Buddha and also plant a Bodhi tree sapling.

PM Modi will participate in an event, organised to mark Abhidhamma Day. The day symbolises the end of a three-month rainy retreat – Varshavaas or Vassa – for the Buddhist Monks, during which they stay at one place in the vihara & monastery and pray. The event will also be attended by eminent Monks from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, South Korea, Nepal, Bhutan, and Cambodia, as well as Ambassadors of various countries.

Modi will also walk through the exhibition of Paintings of Ajanta frescos, Buddhist Sutra Calligraphy, and Buddhist artefacts excavated from Vadnagar and other sites in Gujarat. He will later take part in a public function at Barwa Jangal, Kushinagar. In the event, he will lay the foundation stone of Rajkiya Medical College, Kushinagar which will be built at a cost of over Rs 280 crore.

The Medical College will have a 500-bed hospital and provide admissions to 100 students in the MBBS course in academic session 2022-2023. Prime Minister will also inaugurate & lay the foundation stone of 12 development projects worth over Rs 180 crore, according to the PMO note.