Date:18/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/18/stories/2008041854150600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Buddha statue in a state of neglect

Staff Reporter

Photo: T. Vijaya Kumar

Crying for attention: The Buddha statue inside the Department of Buddhist Studies building on ANU campus in Guntur. —

GUNTUR: The district has a rich heritage of Buddhist culture and several places of tourist and religious importance in the Buddhist circuit. Acharya Nagarjuna University has drawn its name from the greatest intellectual from this area, Acharya Nagarjuna, who propounded the Mahayana.

This has inspired the university to start a Department of Buddhist Studies on the campus and also went to the extent of getting an exclusive building built for the purpose with a 20-foot statue of Lord Buddha installed at the centre of the dome-like structure resembling a sthupa.

However, a visit to the department shows the apathy of the authorities in maintaining the structure. While from the maintenance angle it is no different from other buildings on the campus, the beautiful Buddha statue is an example of neglect.

Pigeons have built nests inside the two-storeyed building, making it their permanent residence. The droppings of the birds have defaced the statue badly.

As per the university policy and norms, one of the rooms in each department is being converted into a ‘Smart Classroom’ with a modern look and state-of-the-art equipment fitted to it. In Buddhism Studies also one of the rooms is getting a makeover. Ironically, all the latest new chairs (each worth Rs.2,500) and equipment procured for the purpose have been left in the open corridors exposed to the vagaries of nature.