KATHMANDU, JULY 5

Vice-president Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav inaugurated Budhanilkantha Dharmashala at Budhanilkantha Municipality in Kathmandu today.

Other participants in the event were Swami Nigamananda, Mathadhis of Budhanilkantha temple, Members of Parliament Gagan Kumar Thapa and Pradeep Paudel, and Shri Prasanna Shrivastava, Chargé d'affaires, Embassy of India, Kathmandu.

Chief of Guthi Sansthan- Shivraj Pandit, representatives of Budhanilkantha temple Committee, officials from the Government of Nepal and the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, were also present at the event.

The Dharmashala has been built with the Government of India's grant assistance of around Rs 50 million. The project was undertaken under the post-earthquake reconstruction grant in the cultural heritage sector in Nepal. The Dharmashala building which was damaged during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake has now been reconstructed as per Department of Archaeology's Basic Guidelines and Manual for conservation and reconstruction of heritage. The project was implemented by Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU - Building & Housing), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, Government of Nepal.

The new three-and-a-half storey Dharmashala will serve thousands of pilgrims visiting Budhanilkantha temple which holds great significance as one of the most revered cultural and religious sites of Nepal.

This project is a reflection of India's longstanding development partnership with Nepal and complements the effort of the Government of Nepal in post-earthquake reconstruction.

In his remarks, Vice-president Yadav appreciated the support provided by the Government of India for the post-earthquake reconstruction.

The Government of India has committed to take responsibility for conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites across seven districts of Nepal. Besides, under the post-earthquake reconstruction grant, the Government of India has extended support for reconstruction of 50,000 private houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, reconstruction of 71 educational institutions across eight districts and reconstruction of 132 health facilities across 10 districts of Nepal.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 6, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.