Bhubaneswar, Feb 4: Kuna Dash, International Tourism Ambassador of Kyoto city, Japan is keen to revive the cordial relationship of Japan with India, especially Odisha to mark the immense sacrifices made by Netaji Subash Chandra Bose for India’s independence.
Dash, who hails from Puri said he is in talks with the Japanese government officials to boost ties with Odisha, birth place of Netaji and Japan where the freedom fighter later moved in. “I am pursuing the Japanese government to make some repository of Netaji’s heritage in Odisha to boost the tourism prospects of the State and also to pave a way for attracting more Japanese tourists to Odisha through other similar initiatives”, he added.
“Odisha and Japan already share Buddhism as a common link. Even in Japan, Netaji is adored and a dedicated Buddhist temple named Renkoji temple has been build where his reported ashes after his death have been placed. I am in talks with the officials here on how we can work together to boost Odisha-Japan ties with Netaji connection,” said Dash.
The tourism ambassador however is optimistic to get some aid from the Japanese government keeping in view the spurt in air connectivity with South East Asian countries and the demand of the state to be included into the national Buddhist circuit. Dash however laments that in Japan people are still ignorant about the birthplace of Netaji which is Cuttack but still many assume that he was born in West Bengal.
“It is really unfortunate that many here are still ignorant about the birthplace of Netaji. He was born in erstwhile Bengal province but not in West Bengal. I often try to make the people aware through my efforts. I believe if joint efforts are taken by both the government we can add virtues to Odisha,” he added.
