The outer concrete railings of the Mahabodhi Mahavihara and the inner Asokan railings would be replaced and renovated to give the World Heritage Site a new look.
Red sandstone railings would replace the existing concrete railings painted in pink. The life history of Buddha and Jatak stories would be carved on the new railings. The Bihar State Road Development Corporation, the executing agency for the project, targets to complete most of the work by January 2016.
If the outer concrete railings are being replaced, the inner Asokan railings would be renovated by the Archaeological Survey of India.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar laid the foundation stone for the railing renovation work on May 4 this year, the second day of the Buddha Jayanti celebrations.
Gaya district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, who is also the Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee chairman, said: "The proposal to renovate the railings was passed at the board meeting of the BTMC on March 26."
On the outer concrete railings, deputy general manager of Bihar State Road Development Corporation Mukesh Kumar said: "A global tender to replace the outer concrete railings has been floated a couple of days ago. The last date to submit proposals is June 7. We have plans to complete the work by January 31 next year. The Kalchakra puja, led by the Dalai Lama, is scheduled between January 14 and 25, 2016, in Bodhgaya. More than 4 lakh devotees are expected to arrive in the holy town for the puja. Before it starts, the major portion of the outer railing renovation work would have to be completed."
As part of the work, total 98 sets of the outer railings would be replaced. Three sets would be 5ft high and four inches wide, while the remaining 95 would be 10ft and 2 inches high and 1.6 inches wide.
Mukesh said: "A total of 98 sets of railings, including 95 of them 10ft and 2 inches high, will replace the existing cemented railings on the northern and the eastern ends. The new sets of railings, constructed with sandstone, will have Asokan designs. There are plans to fix red sandstone railings on the newly built walls on the northern side. These sandstone sets will have Buddha's Jatak story panels. Samples of two such sets have already been prepared by Odisha artist Indramani Maharana."
The railings at present are plain without any carvings or sculptures.
For the inner Asokan railings to be renovated, sources said BTMC has deposited Rs 1.69 crore with the ASI. The ASI floated the tender for the project last October. A deadline has not yet been fixed for the project, the sources added.
Buddhist scholar Rajiv Kumar said: "The Asokan design includes pictures of lotus, sun, Indra, different zodiac signs, nakshatras, trees and other symbols of Buddhism. According to the past records, renovation of the inner and the outer railings was last done in 1956. Now, the railings have broken at several places."
