Lalitpur, May 13:

Renovation of the Bagalamukhi temple, which was partially destroyed in a fire several weeks ago, began on Friday. The renovation work is expected to be completed by mid-July.

President of the Bagalamukhi Management Committee Aroj Kumar Khadgi, said they had begun renovating the temple. “The renovation works has to be completed at the shortest possible time in order to make early preparations for the cultural events that are round the corner,” Khadki said.

He further added that donations from devotees, as well as the government fund, would be used for the renovation project.

Though the BMC had estimated that Rs 1.5 lakhs would be needed to renovate the temple, the committee has collected Rs 2 million till now.

Binod Gharti, priest of the temple, said, “We didn’t begin the renovation project without performing a Chhyama puja (a prayer seeking an apology).” The puja was performed on May 7.

Chief of the Central Conservation Laboratory for Cultural Heritage, Lalitpur, Padma Vaidhya said, “We could have taken emergency measures and renovated the temple by now.

A tourist from France, Thierry Mandon, wondered how a temple of such cultural importance could be neglected for such a long time.