Patna, Jan 1 (IANS) Buddhist monks have demanded that Bihar's Bodh Gaya, the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment, be declared a holy town.

Bodh Gaya should be declared a holy town as it deserves the status, Bhante P. Sivli, an official of the Mahabodhi Society of India, said.

Sivli told IANS over phone Friday that hundreds of Buddhist monks and officials of over two dozen monasteries in Bodh Gaya put forward their demand in front of two visiting members of the minority commission of India.

The monks feel that the holy status will help the town in its overall development. 'Bodh Gaya may be birth place of Buddhism but it is yet to develop at par with world class tourist spots to attract people from across the globe,' Buddhist monk Anand Priagsheel said.

Demand also rose for declaring the town a vegetarian zone. Tenzin Kunga Luding of Tibetans for a Vegetarian Society, a non-profit public charitable trust, said the government should declare Bodh Gaya a holy town as it will help his campaign to turn it into a vegetarian zone.

'Since Bodh Gaya is the holy land where the Buddha attained enlightenment, a vegetarian Bodh Gaya zone would be in accordance with his true teachings,' he added.