Excelsior Correspondent
COLOMBO, Mar 2: Swami Kailashanand Giri has concluded his five-day official visit to Sri Lanka, beginning February 23, describing it as a major step towards deepening spiritual and pilgrimage tourism ties between India and Sri Lanka.
He was accompanied by Ankit, CEO of Impact Stories; Neha, Co-Founder of Impact Stories; Vinod Chatterjee Koul, Justice of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh; Avantika Birla and Anupam Birla of the Birla family; Varun and Arun, CEOs of BSL Constituency, and Abhimanyu Bhagat, a prominent restaurateur.
As per a statement issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Swami Kailashanand Giri arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport, where he was received by Professor Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism; Buddika Hewawasam, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism; Chinthaka Liyanaarachchi, Deputy Director – Marketing, SLTPB; and Nithini Senananayake, Assistant Director – Marketing, SLTPB.
The visit was undertaken at the invitation of Vijitha Herath, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, who hosted an official dinner at Cinnamon Life – City of Dreams, Colombo, it said.
The event was attended by Vijitha Herath, Professor Ruwan Ranasinghe, Buddika Hewawasam, Sameera Kodithuwakku, Secretary to the Parliament Affairs of the Minister and Private Secretary to the Deputy Minister of Tourism, and Chaminda Jayantha, Coordinating Secretary to the Minister.
During the tour, Swami Kailashanand Giri visited several Hindu and multi-faith sacred sites, including locations connected to the Ramayana heritage and ancient Shaivite traditions.
Among them were Thiruketheeswaram Temple in Mannar, Naguleswaram Temple and Keerimalai Sacred Water Spring at Jaffna, Thirukoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, Gal Vihara and the Shiva Temple at Polonnaruwa, Seetha Amman Temple in Nuwara Eliya, and other locations.
At these sacred temples, he was received with great reverence by the chief priests of the respective temples, who conducted special blessing pooja ceremonies in his honour
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