Pashupati renovation starts as PADT swings into action
Alarmed by ‘continuing dilapidation’ of Pashupatinath Temple and claims that the temple is ‘on the verge of collapse’, the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has kick-started a process to renovate the world heritage site in two phases.
The first phase, according to PADT member secretary Sushil Nahata, has already started.
Earlier this month, the Department of Archaeology (DoA) allowed PADT
to renovate the temple acting on a directive from the Ministry of Culture (MoC). The ministry had previously recommended for renovating the temple by forming a committee in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling last year.
The committee had voiced for documenting the inner structure of the temple at the earliest, as officials have no record to find out how inner parts of the temple look since no one except the main priests are allowed to enter inside.
According to Nahata, the PADT will first carry out minor renovation works, which include repairing of the temple doors, and ankhijhyal (traditional Nepali windows bearing numerous tiny holes).
The second phase entails a detailed renovation plan. The entire premises of the temple, including the surrounding structures, will be repaired. “We may also renovate the temple right from the basement in the second phase, but that requires a master plan with large amount of funds,” Nahata said. According to him, the first phase work will require a budget of around Rs 3 million.
At present, a number of important undocumented artefacts and structures of the temple from the basement to the golden pinnacle are said to be in dilapidated state owing to lack of proper care and timely renovation.
Experts have claimed that the temple is on the verge of collapse and since it has not been renovated for years, it has become pestiferous, attracting rats and cockroaches.
The temple built in 516 BS by Mandev had been renovated only twice—first time by King Bhupalendra Malla in 1365 and later by Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Janga Bahadur Rana.
According to PADT Treasurer Narottam Vaidya, Bhupalendra Malla and his mother stayed in the temple for six months while it was being renovated under their direct command. Renovation by Chandra Shumsher was not as broader as the one carried out by the Malla king, he added.
Posted on: 2011-11-21 08:41
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