LUMBINI: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli this morning took part in a peace rally held by the Lumbini Development Trust to mark the 2562nd 'Buddha Jayanti', the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha.

PM Oli took part in the rally, which took off from Lumbini, for 20 minutes. Province 5 Chief Minister Shankar Pokharel and former lawmaker Rajan Bhattarai also participated in the rally.

Earlier, the PM went on a visit to the Mayadevi Temple and inspected the Ashoka Pillar, Little Buddha and the Peace Flame.

The participants, recognising Lumbini as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, pledged to promote Lumbini and Buddhism personally and on behalf of their representative nations. The joint pledge has been mentioned in the first point of the 10-point declaration.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who attended the conference on Sunday, said he was glad that the conference served to send out a message to the world that Lumbini was not only the birthplace of Lord Buddha but also the origin of Buddhism.

The conference also stressed the need to develop Lumbini as a pilgrimage circuit in Asia and conserve and manage the archaeological, natural and cultural heritage herein. The declaration has also mentioned development of Lumbini as a world centre for Buddhist education.

PM Oli, who arrived in Lumbini to take part in the two-day International Buddhist Conference, is scheduled to return to the capital city today.

(with inputs from Rastriya Samachar Samiti)