Buddhists in Shimla demand PWD to handover monastery Skip to main content

Buddhists in Shimla demand PWD to handover monastery

ANI, January 23, 2010

Shimla, India -- Buddhists have been demanding the legal possession of a monastery in Rampur town of Shimla district from the Himachal Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD).

The foundation stone of the monastery was laid down by Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on 5th January 1990.

It then took 16 years and a total cost of one crore rupees for the completion of the Buddhist temple.


But since its inauguration in 2006, the Public Works Department (PWD) has continued to legally possess the monastery, which should have been under the Bhima-Kali Temple Trust of Rampur.

"The temple was inaugurated on 28 October 2006 by the Dalai Lama, but on the opening day, the PWD did not hand over the temple to the Bhima-Kali Trust. This made the locals speculate that there may be some construction flaws associated with the temple, which the PWD is not citing. But in only three years, the walls of the monastery have started crumbling, and there is seepage. However, the PWD is not doing anything about the dilapidating condition of the temple building," said Bihari Sahyogi, a local resident.

Considering the battered condition of the temple, the Buddhist residents of the area have demanded that the ownership of the monastery be handed over to the Trust so that it can be taken care of.

Officials of the Public Works Department, however, have assured that the matter will be looked into at the earliest.

"PWD is currently handling the maintenance of the monastery. But after this issue, I will ask the senior officers in the department to send a detailed report of the monastery to the government. After the report has been sent and scrutinized, the matter of the maintenance and the upkeep of the temple will be investigated," said Gulab Singh Thakur, PWD minister, Himachal Pradesh.

As per the PWD norms, any private or public property after inauguration is handed over to the concerned person, trust or department. But in this case, the rule has been violated.


Ref: Buddhist Channel

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f