KATHMANDU: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Prasad Adhikari has shared the need for preparing a master plan within six months for constructing infrastructures within Pashupati premises to make the area alluring.

Addressing a programme organised at Pashupati on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust today, the Culture and Tourism Minister suggested formulating programme for developing Pashupati area into an attractive place of religious tourism.

Minister Adhikari, who is also the chairman of the PADT Board of Directors, said that the religious place should not be turned into a commercial place.

On the occasion, he directed the PADT office-bearers to start doing homework for planting 5,000 species of plants with religious significance such as rudrakshya, camphor among others.

"The heart and motive of those working in the Pashupati should be pious. The coming fiscal year is being declared as the Heritage Reconstruction Year and the Ministry is preparing to bring programme aiming to complete the reconstruction of 80 per cent of the heritages damaged in the April 2015 earthquake within the fiscal year 2018/2019," Minister Adhikari said, adding that the remaining 20 per cent of the heritages would be reconstructed in the fiscal year 2019/2020.

He said the reconstruction of the heritages in the Pashupati area should be carried out without changing their original architectural style and urged the PADT to run a university for the study of oriental philosophy and culture.

PADT Member Secretary Pradip Dhakal said preparations have been made for works on reforms including infrastructure construction in the Pashupati area in order to develop it into a place of attraction for the followers of the vedic sanatana religion the world over.

Similarly, former treasurer of the PADT Taranath Subedi suggested the Trust officials to maintain transparency in their works as people would lose faith in the religious institutions if probity in their works and activities were not respected.

Likewise, Executive Director of PADT Ramesh Kumar Upreti stressed on the need of amending the Act to tune it with the contemporary changes.