Sri Lankan Pilgrim Rest "symbol of friendship"

[TamilNet, Monday, 28 December 1998, 22:28 GMT]
The new Pilgrims Rest in New Delhi would be a symbol of friendship between India and Sri Lanka, President Chandrika Bandaranayake said today. She was speaking after a foundation stone laying ceremony for the proposed Pilgrim's Rest that will be located in front of the New Delhi Railway Station.

She said that the existing Pilgrims Rest, inaugurated in 1960, has been providing facilities to pilgrims of all faiths exemplifying the tolerance compassion and universal love preached and practised by the Lord Budha.

President Chandrika Bandaranayake said she was confident that the new Pilgrims Rest will continue to maintain its noble tradition as a place of rest and recuperation for all pilgrims from all over the world.

She said that the Sri Lankan Pilgrim's rest will stand as a monument to the abiding friendship between the two countries as well as a beacon of tolerance and peace.

Speaking on this occasion Indian Prime Minister, Adal Bihari Vajpay, said that New Delhi was the most suitable place for a Pilgrim's Rest of this nature.

He said pilgrims from all parts of the world would enjoy the facilities of this institution. The Pilgrim's Rest would be a place to create awareness among all religions for peace, unity and coexistence, the Indian Prime Minister went on to say.

The function was organized by the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in India, Mangala Munasinghe. The Minister of the Buddha Saasana, Lakshman Jayakody, and others were also present at the occasion.