Bugs threaten holy Indian tree

The sacred Mahabodhi Tree at Gaya in eastern India, revered by Buddhists around the world, has been attacked by insects that might kill it.

'The holy tree has been reduced to a ghost of itself and may die if it does not respond to treatment soon,' said R. P. Pariera, a programme officer of Unesco, which in June declared Gaya's Mahabodhi temple - the complex in which the tree stands - a world heritage site.

The insects have been identified as mealybugs, and frantic temple authorities and Unesco officials have sent an SOS to international experts to help them save the sacred 'Tree of Awakening'.

Scientists from Patna's Bihar Agricultural Research Institute are working around the clock after collecting soil, branches and leaves, but are yet to find a cure.

The centuries-old temple and the sacred tree at Gaya, 250km from Calcutta, attract millions of Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world each year, particularly from Southeast Asian countries.

Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born about 580 BC to a royal family in Nepal. According to Buddhist theology, he achieved enlightenment while meditating under a tree in Gaya, which is treasured as the Mahabodhi tree, and became the Buddha. A temple was built near the tree by Indian emperor Ashoke in the third century BC after he converted to Buddhism.