Reconstruction of 38 heritages completes at Basantapur

KATHMANDU: Reconstruction of 38 heritages around the Hanumandhoka Durbar area has been completed.

These heritages, enlisted in the list of World Heritage Sites, were destroyed by the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake.

Thirty-eight out of the 75 heritages damaged in the Earthquake have been rebuilt while reconstruction of 14 is in progress, said the Hanumandhoka Durbar Supervision Office.

Office Chief Sandip Khanal said these heritages will be handed over after the reconstruction of the 14 heritages which are under reconstruction. The reconstruction of these structures will be completed in the next one and half years.

Out of the 95 heritages in the Durbar Area, 75 were damaged by the earthquake. The historic Nine-storied Palace to the south of Hanumandhoka and the Basantapur Tower, Lalitpur Tower, Kirtipur Tower and Bhaktapur Tower, adjacent to it, have been rebuilt. China has rebuilt these heritages. These are yet to be handed over to Nepal.

The historic Gaddi Baithak has been reconstructed with the support of the US government and it has been opened to the visitors.

Reconstruction works on the remaining heritages has not been started as it can be initiated only after the completion of the ongoing reconstruction while the locals have barred reconstruction of some heritages, said Khanal, the Chief of the Hanumandhoka Supervision Office.

Reconstruction of 23 heritages is not yet begun. These include the Mohanchok, the Sundarichok and other some heritages in the periphery of Sundarichok. The locals have barred reconstruction works of the Kalika Temple and Laxminarayan Sattal.

The rebuilding of the heritages in this area is being done through the Department of Archaeology, the Chinese government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Bagmati State Infrastructure Development Programme, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and some local Guthis (community trusts).