New meditation centre laid

The foundation stone for an International Meditation Centre and Monastery was laid on April 19 in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, at a ceremony pitched as part of a larger Buddhist learning and tourism push. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein attended the event and said the project could strengthen Buddhist learning, spiritual practice and cultural exchange across regions. The Times of India reported the ceremony took place on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) Local reporting before the event said the building planned near Sharnapur would be a four-storey International Meditation Centre developed by the Dhammayan Educational and Charitable Trust. The site was listed as Gut No. 92, near Appawadi, Sharnapur, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. (lokmattimes.com) That matters in this city because Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar sits close to Ajanta and Ellora, two of India’s best-known Buddhist and rock-cut heritage sites that already draw pilgrims, tourists and researchers. Mein linked the new centre to a broader Buddhist tourism circuit that would connect Maharashtra with northeastern states including Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) The guest list showed the project was being framed as more than a local construction ceremony. Lokmat Times reported expected attendees from Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, alongside state minister Eknath Shinde, Member of Parliament Shrikant Shinde and Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat. (lokmattimes.com) The programme itself mixed ritual and logistics: Dhamma flag hoisting at 9 a.m., a group meditation session and chanting at 9:30 a.m., food donation at 12:30 p.m., and the main groundbreaking at 2:30 p.m. City buses were also scheduled every 30 minutes from the railway station, central bus stand and Cidco bus stand between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. (lokmattimes.com) The timing also overlapped with Akshaya Tritiya, which fell on April 19 in 2026 and is widely treated as an auspicious day for new beginnings, prayers and charitable acts. That gave the ceremony a second layer of religious symbolism beyond its Buddhist framing. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) For now, the clearest concrete change is physical: a new monastery-and-meditation complex is set to rise near Sharnapur, with organizers and political leaders presenting it as a future stop on India’s Buddhist map. (lokmattimes.com; timesofindia.indiatimes.com)