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In a first, a hill-top Buddhist monastery discovered in Bihar

Bihar has long been a sacred destination to visit, particularly those who are followers of Buddhism. Now it is also home to the latest discovery of this place is the first-of-its-kind hilltop Buddhist monastery. Reportedly, it's also dubbed as the first vihara (a Buddhist abode) in the state. The monastery was discovered at Lal Pahari in Lakhisarai as per the excavation team director Anil Kumar. Reports state that the site is believed to have been built in the 11th-12th century Common Era (CE) by Mahayana Buddhists. A number of metal bangles have also been found, whereas all the cells had doors, which is something unusual when compared to Buddhist monasteries that had been excavated so far. This might also suggest that either the spot was exclusively for woman monks or a mixed one. Two burnt clay seals have been recovered from the site with Sanskrit inscriptions, and the script is Siddhamātṛkā of about 8th-9th century CE. Referring to this discovery, Anil, who heads the ancient history and archaeology department at Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan, said it’s the first vihara in the state, which might probably be the reason how Bihar got its name, just like those found at Vikramshila, Nalanda, and Telhara were mahaviharas. Although a number of mahāvihāras and an instance of vihārikā is known from archaeological and epigraphic records of eastern India, yet there was no evidence of a vihara-level monastic architecture from any part of Bihar until now. He further added that these findings will play a prominent role in the understanding of the history of monastic Buddhism in early medieval Magadha in general. This evidence also clearly proves that the monastery atop Lal Pahari at Jaynagar was a vihāra, he explained.

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India’s first indoor ski park to come up for tourists at Kufri

The Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh will soon get its first indoor ski park at Kufri, near Shimla. The objective behind this development is to boost tourism in the state, and already, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Himachal state government and Nagsons Developers to build the first indoor ski park in India at Kufri. According to the latest reports, the construction of the ski park would commence in March 2021 and would be ready by April 2022. The government has allotted an area of 5.04 acres in Kufri for the project. Estimated to be constructed at a cost of INR 250 crore, the project will also have a five-star hotel, a spacious shopping mall, an amusement park, a gaming zone, shopping arcade, food court, parking facility for more than a thousand vehicles and more. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who graced the event, said that the state government is committed to make Himachal as one of the best tourist destinations in India, and is working towards being more tourist-friendly by coming up with state-of-the-art amenities. He also added that the project would also create employment opportunities for about 1000 people in Shimla and other neighbouring areas whilst also increasing the duration of stay of tourists.

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Ladakh reopens Pangong lake for tourists

Amid the India-China standoff, Tourism Department in Ladakh Union Territory has reopened Pangong Lake for tourists from January 10 after nearly a year of closure. Tourism Department officials informed that the prime tourist attraction in Ladakh UT, Pangong Lake has been reopened for tourists. Notably, the Pangong Lake in Ladakh was closed for tourists post border tensions with the neighboring country, China. Meanwhile, in a tweet, the Ladakh Tourism Department informed; “The Majestic Pangong Lake Has Been Reopened for tourists starting from January 10. So get the inner line permit (ILP) at lahdclehpermit.in, and visit this spellbinding lake.” Top administrative officials informed KNO that the Manali-Leh Highway will also be reopened by or before May this year—(The Kashmir Walla)

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SpiceJet inks MoU with Brussels Airport for transportation of Covid vaccines

SpiceJet has signed an agreement with Belgium's Brussels Airport for providing seamless transportation of COVID-19 vaccines, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday. As a part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Brussels Airport would provide assistance to SpiceJet with regards to slots, networking contracts etc. for speedy delivery of vaccines, it noted. "The airline's cargo arm, SpiceXpress, envisions to provide rapid and secure transportation of COVID-19 vaccine from and to Europe and beyond with proper temperature-controlled mechanism under the MoU," the SpiceJet's statement said. As part of this association, Brussels Airport will be SpiceJet's first flight point for Europe, it mentioned. As strategic partners, both SpiceJet and Brussels Airport Company NV will jointly work with the government, pharma companies and forwarders to ensure a reliable ecosystem for vaccine delivery in a temperature-controlled environment, it said. India started its vaccine movement from Tuesday morning when SpiceJet flight SG8937 flight transported the first consignment of COVID-19 vaccine from Pune to Delhi. Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said four airlines will operate nine flights to transport 56.5 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Pune to 13 cities across the country on Tuesday.

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Tripura: Govt's 5-day adventure sports festival raises hopes of reviving tourism

The five-day Agartala Adventure Tourism Festival underway at the Swami Vivekananda Maidan in Agartala attracted several visitors with many of them expressing hope that it would play a role in reviving tourism in the state after the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first of its kind festival in the state began on January 9 and was initiated by the Tripura government to boost tourism in the state. "Tripura is a small state but it is blessed with several natural gifts. This festival is part of the government's efforts to make Tripura a tourist hub," said Tourism Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, who spent the day at the festival. Several activities such as rock climbing, hot air balloon rides, archery, ziplining, jet skiing and rope climbing were available for tourists. "I am really glad to see such events taking place in Tripura. This is the first time we have had a festival for adventure sports. I'm sure that this will attract more tourists to our state," said a tourist. Another tourist said that she was excited to come out and participate in the festival after being stuck at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "We are so glad that we can come out and participate in this festival after the Covid-19. The tourism sector and the economy are in bad shape, so this is a good initiative by the government to start the recovery process," she said.

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Uttarakhand Tourism to organise first-ever snow leopard tours; details here

Uttarakhand Tourism is all set to organise winter-special snow leopard tours for the first time in February. The snow-leopard tours are being organised in Harsil, a picturesque village on the banks of the Bhagirathi river, to promote wildlife conservation. Harsil is also dubbed the “mini Switzerland of India”. The first batch of tourists will be chosen on first-come, first-serve basis. The tourism body took to Twitter to make the announcement. Take a look: The initiative is part of the SECURE Himalaya Project — Securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems. Led by the Indian government and United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the project aims to “ensure conservation of locally and globally significant biodiversity, land and forest resources in the high Himalayan ecosystem, while enhancing the lives and livelihoods of local communities,” according to in.undp.org. For the snow leopard tours, GEF, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, UNDP India, and Uttarakhand Forest Department have also partnered with the state tourism board. In August 2020, Uttarakhand announced India’s first Snow Leopard Conservation Centre in Uttarkashi. As per research, there were about 86 snow leopards in Uttarakhand till last year mentioned by Hindustan Times in an article. The snow leopard is a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of India. Known to be quite reclusive in nature, the animal is also listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In India, snow leopards inhabit a large part of the western Himalayas, from Jammu and Kashmir to Himachal Pradesh, and eastern Himalayas including Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, according to wwfindia.org. They prefer “steep, rugged terrains with rocky outcrops and ravines”.

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