Visits of Vietnam PM, wife cancelled

GAYA: The proposed visit of Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife Tr n Th Nguy t Thu to the Buddhist temple town of Bodh Gaya in Bihar has been cancelled.

The Buddhist pilgrimage town, 110 km south of state capital, Patna, is on high alert following recovery of two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near the Mahabodhi temple.

Gaya district magistrate Abhishek Kumar Singh confirmed the cancellation of the visit, but said it had nothing to do with the recovery of IEDs.

As per the itinerary, received by the Gaya district administration, Phuc and his wife were to arrive at Gaya airport from New Delhi on January 27 and offer prayers at the Mahabodhi Mahavira, a Unesco world heritage site, and under the Mahabodhi tree the same day. After spending the night at Bodh Gaya, the couple was to visit Rajgir and Nalanda on January 28.

THE PILGRIMAGE TOWN IS ON HIGH ALERT AFTER THE RECOVERY OF TWO IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES NEAR THE MAHABODHI TEMPLE

While Phuc was to return on January 28 evening, his wife was scheduled to stay at Bodh Gaya for two more days. Phuc will be visiting India along with nine ASEAN leaders to attend the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi as chief guests.

About 50,000 disciples of the Dalai Lama from places across the world are in Bodh Gaya to attend the Tibetan spiritual leader’s teaching sessions. The timing of the recovery of IEDs raises serious security lapses at Bodh Gaya during the peak pilgrimage season. On January 3, 13 policemen, deployed on security duty for the Dalai Lama, were suspended for negligence after they were found missing from their assigned positions.