Bhopal, October 30 (Pervez Bari): Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and his ministerial colleague, the Minister of Urban Development (Sri Lanka), Dinesh Gunawardena arrived here in Bhopal on Friday morning from Mumbai on a three-day visit to the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
During the visit, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister would inaugurate a Buddhist prayer centre at Sanchi in Vidisha district, about 45 kms from here, tomorrow. The prayer centre will be known as the Sanchi Vandana Niketan and inauguration would be done in the presence of Buddhist from India and Sri Lanka.
The centre has been built by the National Physical Planning Department under the Ministry of Urban Development, Sacred Area Development of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Public Works Department of Madhya Pradesh state and Federal government.
Later, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Wickramanayake paid a courtesy call on the Madhya Pradesh Governor, Rameshwar Thakur at Raj Bhawan. Governor Thakur presented a memento to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister. The Minister of Urban Development (Sri Lanka), Dinesh Gunawardena; Principal Secretary to the Governor, K.K. Singh and the acting High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in India, Palitha Ganegoda were present on the occasion.
Earlier, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan received and welcomed the Prime Minister of Wickramanayake at Raja Bhoj Airport here. The Prime Minister arrived here by a special plane. Chouhan presented a bouquet to Wickramanayake to welcome him. (pervezbari@eth.net)