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Soroor Ahmed in Patna
The Bihar State Electricity Board has disconnected power supply to 34 prominent monasteries of Bodh Gaya for failure to pay their dues since June 2001.
While power to 12 monasteries was disconnected on Wednesday, that of rest was disconnected on Thursday.
However, power supply to the sanctum sanctorum of the main Mahabodhi Temple is continuing.
The 34 monasteries include that of China, Thailand and Japan.
While Chinese monasteries have accumulated dues worth Rs 400,000, Mahayana Temple has to pay Rs 375,000 and Japanese monasteries Rs 200,000 to BSEB.
In all, Rs 2.5 million is pending for clearance.
The local official said that notice to these monasteries had been served in the first week of January -- 15 days before the start of Kalchakra Puja.
However, the Buddhist monks strongly protested the action of the BSEB and charged that last June the monasteries were transferred from domestic to non-domestic categories, when the power rates were revised all over the state.
The International Buddhist Council has decided to close down all the monasteries and temples from Thursday in protest against the decision.
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