President visits world's tallest monolithic statue of Buddha in Hussainsagar lake

Hyderabad, Dec 20: President Ram Nath Kovind visited the world's tallest monolithic statue of Gautama Buddha located in the midst of the picturesque Hussainsagar lake, here on Wednesday.

Mr Kovind along with Telanagana and AP Governor E S L Narasimhan, Deputy Chief Minister Mohammad Mahmood Ali, top Civil, Defence officials and a posse of security personnel arrived at the statue site in a launch--"Khair-un-Nissa" operated by the state tourism department.
On arrival near the statue, he was received by Buddhist monks and accompanied by them Mr Kovind went round the statue and offered flowers to a smaller statue of the Buddha placed below the huge statue.
A visibly impressed Mr Kovind stood for a few minutes in front of the statue as the monks chanted prayers.
Tight security arrangements were made in the precincts of the lake and the busy Tank Bund road in view of the President's visit. The monolithic statue which was installed in the early 1980s, when matinee idol-turned-politician N T Rama Rao was the Chief Minister, had become a major tourist attraction. UNI