The Sri Lanka Temple located in Lumbini, Nepal, is dilapidated and needs immediate renovation to ensure the safety of devotees.
Under Nepal’s Lumbini Development Master Plan, which was implemented jointly by the United Nations Organization and the Nepalese government in 1978, plots of land have been given to 13 Theravada countries and 26 Mahayana countries to build their own temples.
The construction work of the Sri Lanka Vihara, which commenced in the early 1990s, was stopped in 1998 and was restarted and completed in 2009. But after that, the temple complex has become dilapidated due to the lack of any restoration work.
Especially, since the roofs of the temple complex are dilapidated and roof tiles are falling to the ground, there is a very unsafe situation for the devotees visiting the temple.
Buddhists from different countries and foreigners who respect Buddhism came to this place in large numbers earlier. As the dilapidated condition is dangerous, the arrival of foreigners and locals has decreased to a great extent, incumbent of Sri Lanka Vihara Ven. Tissamaharama Pangnasara Thera said.
“It is observed that many foreigners visit the temples of other countries. Also, they are very interested in visiting the Sri Lanka Vihara as a Theravada temple, but due to the dangerous situation in this temple, the visit of the devotees has to be restricted, the Ven. Thera said.
An expert tourist guide of Nepal, Dilip Rain said that the temple complex should be renovated soon as it is obstructing the religious activities of the temple. The temple complexes built by other countries are developed and managed by donors and governments of those countries and it is problematic that such a programme is not implemented for the Sri Lanka Vihara.
Dharma Sri Abeyratne