Gift from Myanmar,Buddha in marble,21 ft tall

Buddha’s image appears on the giant screen at Global Vipassana Pagoda on Thursday,Buddha Purnima. Thousands of devotees had turned out for unveiling of the city’s tallest Buddha statue,a 21-foot gift from the government of Myanmar. They had come from all corners of Maharashtra and waited in the heat for its inauguration.

The Global Vipassana Foundation plans to build another pagoda,which will have 108 rooms.”There is a pagoda at my hometown but I wanted to visit the one in Gorai,one of the largest,” said Priyanka Gandale,32,of Igatpuri,Nasik. Among those present were joint municipal commissioner S S Shinde.