A three-day socio-religious conference, that Nepal hopes will spruce up its image as a safe destination, began Tuesday amid tight security after Maoist insurgents called a two-day shutdown and set off bomb explosions.

The second World Buddhist Summit, expected to be attended by monks, government representatives and religious leaders from 26 countries, is being held at Lumbini in Rupandehi district where Buddha was born over 2,500 years ago.

The actual inauguration by Nepal's King Gyanendra is scheduled for Wednesday.

While Nepalese minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Deep Kumar Upadhyay and Buddhist monks based in Lumbini have been hoping the Maoists, waging an eight-year war against the government, would suspend hostilities during the summit, the rebels called a two-day shutdown of the district to protest against the killing of three of their cadres by security forces.

On Monday night, the insurgents set off explosions in some areas in Rupandehi and its neighbouring district of Nawalparasi. Though there was no damage, the blasts succeeded in heightening tensions.

The state media Tuesday said the government had employed over 3,000 security personnel to ensure there were no unwarranted incidents at Lumbini. However, the Himalayan Broadcasting Corp said in the morning public transport had gone off the roads because of the closure call.

Security has been beefed up along the road leading from the domestic airport in district headquarters Bhairahawa to Lumbini but visitors travelling by road from Kathmandu or other districts might face problems.

The timing of the summit is being questioned since it comes when the Sher Bahadur Deuba government is in a tight corner, having failed to start peace negotiations with the Maoists.

Even as the summit kicks off, a major partner of the coalition government, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, is holding a meeting of its senior members to decide whether it should quit the government.

Last week, Deuba, in a public declaration, said if the rebels don't start talks by Jan 13, the government would go ahead with arrangements to hold parliamentary elections by next year.

While the rebels spurned the deadline, Deuba's plan to go ahead with polls before peace is restored has been criticised by the opposition and the government's own allies.

The Lumbini Development Trust, which along with the government is hosting the summit, has come under fire several times for not being able to fully implement most of the plans formulated during the first summit held in 1998.

The first summit had envisioned the construction of an international airport and a Buddhist university but nothing has been done.

--Indo-Asian News Service