Unesco unhappy with Mahabodhi temple

PATNA - Eight years after the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar was declared a World Heritage Site, Unesco is unhappy with its management for flouting safety and maintenance guidelines.

“Unesco is unhappy over the continued practice of lighting fire lamps, candles and incense sticks near the Bodhi tree by devotees and conservation work at the site,” a Bodh Gaya temple management official said.

“Unesco has asked the management to submit a report on the safety of the site and whether Unesco’s maintenance guidelines for preservation were followed,” the official told IANS over telephone.

A few years ago, Unesco threatened to revoke the Mahabodhi temple’s World Heritage Site status over the violation of its safety and maintenance guidelines.

The 1,500-year-old temple, about 110 km from Patna, is the holiest shrine in Buddhism.