Bhopal, Oct 30 (IANS) Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake would Saturday inaugurate a Buddhist prayer centre at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district, officials said Friday.
The Rs.84-million (Rs.8.4 crore) centre has been built by the National Physical Planning Department under the union ministry of urban development, Sacred Area Development of the government of Sri Lanka and the Madhya Pradesh public works department, officials of the state information department said.

Three-storeyed prayer centre, christened Sanchi Vandana Niketan, is considered as a gift from Sri Lanka to India. It is built in an area of 1,200 square metres, officials said.

Sanchi is known for Buddhist stupas, many of which have been found on top of a hill here. The biggest one is called the Great Stupa and it is believed that the relics of Buddha were buried inside this stupa by King Ashoka.