Kathmandu

Govt accused of negligence in Kasthamandap reconstruction

Govt accused of negligence in Kasthamandap reconstruction

By Rastriya Samachar Samiti

People gather at the ground zero of Kashthamandap on April 24, 2016. The iconic monument after which Kathmandu is named toppled in the April 25, 2015 earthquake. Photo: Keshav P. Koirala

KATHMANDU: The Kasthamandap Reconstruction Campaign has said the government was indifferent towards the reconstruction of the historic Kasthamandap.

The Campaign said it had drawn the government's attention in the year 2015 itself on the urgent need of reconstructing the heritage site. It has been demanding that the historic monument be constructed in accordance with the world heritage conservation standards with community ownership, Campaign President Baikuntha Manandhar stated in a press statement on Sunday.

Manandhar said that an interaction carried out among the government bodies, stakeholders, experts and the community concluded that Kasthamandap should be reconstructed at the people's level itself.

The press release further stated that a message should be given to the world that Nepalis are capable of reconstructing the archaeological heritages by building Kasthamandap from people's level.

Kasthamandap is enlisted in the World Heritage Sites. It was constructed in the seventh century. The heritage was damaged by the April 2015 earthquake, the reconstruction of which has not yet begun after nearly three years.