Lumbini Birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal

Lumbini is the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal . It is one of the most holy place of one of the world's great religions. UNESCO has listed Lumbini as the World Heritage Property in Nepal in .1997 for its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV). World famous Japanese architect Professor Kenzo Tange has prepared Lumbini Master Plan in 1978 which expresses the spirituality of Buddhism with concepts of tranquility, universality, and purity in harmony with natural environment. The book covers review of Lumbini Master Plan Development for last forty years (1978-2018). Engineer Bajracharya treated with the other relevant subject areas of Lumbini such as environment, pollution in and around Lumbini, Government's regulatory mechanism around peripheral areas of Lumbini World Heritage Property and Nepal Government's state responsibility to complete the project at earliest . The author is of opinion that the book will have wide appeal to multidiscipline professionals from Nepal and abroad who take interest in Lumbini, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha .

Bhaktananda Bajracharya is a Senior Engineer with over 55 years experience in Nepal's development projects associated with national and international institutions like World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Bajracharya has his Engineering Degree from India in 1962 and had carried further advance studies in the United States and Europe. He was also the Member of American Society of Civil Engineers, New York.

Bajracharya has earlier written and published UNESCO listed First World Heritage Property in Nepal - Kathmandu Valley in 1979 with his book titled "Kathmandu-Architecture and Environment" in 2015(Second Edition) and First Edition in 1969. Lumbini -Birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal is his Second Book Publication on Lumbini as Second World Heritage Property listed by UNESCO in 1997. He has widely travelled in America, Europe and Asia.

Lumbini is the birthplace of the Lord Buddha born in Nepal as testified by inscription in the Asoka Pillar. Lumbini is the grove with sacred trees, beautiful flowers, worldly splendor and eternal tranquility that became Sacred Garden. Lord Buddha himself predicted in his life time thousands of thousands men and women will visit Lumbini with 'faith, curiosity and devotion" to Lumbini. Lumbini is one of the most holy and significant place as one of the world's great religions with archaeological remains of the Buddhist monasteries and memorial shrines from 3. century BC to 15'h century CE. They provide importance evidence about the nature of the Buddhist pilgrimage from a very yearly period. Based on above reason's UNESCO has listed Lumbini as the World Heritage Property in 1997 for its Outstanding Universal Value (OUV).

U Thant, Second Secretary General of UN visited Lumbini in 1967. He was very much impressed and inspired by Lumbini. He helped Government of Nepal to develop Lumbini as an international pilgrimage and tourism centre and thereby assisted to engage the Japanese architect Kenzo Tonge to prepare Lumbini Master Plan with the UN assistance. Lumbini Master Plan came into implementation stream in 1978 at the project cost of US Dollar 55 Million. Kenzo Tonge envisaged to create master plan for Lumbini- a physical environment which expresses the spirituality of Buddhism with concepts of tranquility, universality and purity in harmony with natural environment of Lumbini grove.

The book covers a monograph treatise on various eight topics of Lumbini development such as Master Plan Review, Archaeology, Maya Devi Temple Structure Constructions & Technical problems, Japanese Government's Assistance, Regulations & Controls, Environment & Pollution, Spiritualism & Tourism and Nepal Government.

The book discusses various development problems relating to project management, resources constrains, foreign donors' dependency, inadequate funds flow from Nepal Government and political instability during implementation. The author visited Lumbini first time in 1967 on bullock-cart and has been visiting since then over 50 years as a professional engineer involved with development of public and private sectors projects in and around Bhairhawa and Butwal corridors. The development of Lumbini based on Kenzo Tange's Master Plan had taken about 40 years-the longest public sector project in Nepal's History and still not complete yet. Only with political commitment and will power of Nepal Government's state responsibility and urgency to complete the Lumbini project are all that required now to show-off the good governance of Nepal to the world.

I strongly feel and plead to the government of Nepal to bestow honour to its most glorious and secular native son Gautam Buddha with utmost urgency for earliest completion of development of Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha as a World Heritage Property in Nepal for all humankind of the world.

**Contents and Sample Pages**