On 20 November 2021, the delegation of Thai diplomats comprising Mr. Kasemsan Thongsiri, Acting Consul-General of Thailand in Kolkata, Miss Venus Asawapoom, Consul and Mr. Nutt Svasti-Salee, Consul, have been assigned by Her Excellency the Ambassador of Thailand in New Delhi to attend on her behalf the Bodhgaya Temple Advisory Board (BTAB) Meeting at Hotel Oaks in Gaya, Bihar.

                     During the said meeting, the Acting Consul-General of Thailand in Kolkata took note of the efforts of the BTMC, the Collectorate of Gaya, the Government of Bihar as well as the Government of India and other local authorities in preserving, upholding, developing and upgrading not only the Mahabodhi Temple Complex but also the facilities and infrastructure to and from Bodhgaya to other cities and places along the Buddhist Circuit.

                     With regard to Thailand, Mr. Thongsiri thanked the BTMC, Gaya administration and all concerned authorities in facilitating and providing courtesies to Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, youngest sister of His Majesty King Rama X of Thailand, during her visit with her delegation in February 2020, prior to the pandemic.

                     During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata has pushed forward the Royal Thai Government’s Initiatives to Empower Public Health Capacities in Bihar for 2 consecutive years. In 2020, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata donated 2 ventilators and 1 ICU patient bed to Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital in Gaya. And this year, in August 2021, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata donated 1 portable X-Ray machine and 1 Anaesthesia Boyle’s Machine to ANMMCH. Thailand sincerely hopes that the said initiative could help contribute to better livelihood and access to healthcare for both the local population and Thai monks who reside in Bodhgaya as well as Thai pilgrims in the future. Under normal circumstances, approximately 70,000-80,000 Thai pilgrims visit Bodhgaya every year.

                     In addition, the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata also played a coordinating role in facilitating water and land transports of mechanical parts of the Chaipattana Aerator, and facilitated the delegation from the Chaipattana Foundation, under Royal Patronage, to install the new mechanical parts in the Chaipattana Aerator to aerate water in Muchalinda Lake in the vicinity of Maha Bodhi Temple Complex.

                     Finally, the Royal Thai Government stands ready to further strengthen ties with the local authorities in order to enrich the already existing people-to-people ties between Thailand and India, especially on the eve of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Thailand-India diplomatic relations in 2022.