Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bihar’s Gaya on Wednesday for his one day tour when he will inaugurate the new campus of the ancient Nalanda University in Rajgir that once was a key global centre of learning.
Modi arrived at Gaya International airport by a special aircraft from Varanasi. After his arrival at the airport, the Prime Minister was accorded warm welcome by the Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and Bihar Minister Prem Kumar.
He left for Nalanda by a chopper where he visited the World Heritage site Nalanda ruins.
After inaugurating the new campus in Rajgir of Nalanda, the Prime Minister will also address a gathering.
Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Karo, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Head of Missions of 17 countries including China, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Mauritius, Myanmar, Portugal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam will attend the function.
Modi will return to Gaya by chopper after the address.
The official sources at Nalanda University said that the University is conceived as a joint collaboration between India and East Asia Summit(EAS) countries.
Giving details of the infrastructure, the sources said that the Campus has two Academic Blocks with 40 Classrooms having a total seating capacity of around 1,900. It has two auditoriums having a capacity of 300 seats each.
A student hostel with a capacity of around 550 students. It also has various other facilities including International Centre, amphitheatre that can accommodate up to 2000 individuals, Faculty Club and Sports Complex among others.
According to the source, the Campus is a ‘Net Zero’ Green Campus and is Self-Sustainable with solar plant, domestic and drinking water treatment plant, water recycling plant for reusing wastewater, 100 acres of water bodies, and many other environment friendly facilities.
The University has a deep connection with history. The original Nalanda University, established around 1600 years ago, is considered to be amongst the first residential universities of the world. In 2016, the ruins of Nalanda was declared as a UN Heritage Site.
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