KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 28
Chief Executive Officer of National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyawali, Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Hari Prabha Khadgi, Indian Ambassador to Nepal and Vinay Mohan Kwatra, jointly laid the foundation stone for the restoration of Seto Machindranath temple in Kathmandu, on Sunday.
Issuing a press release today, Naveen Kumar, first secretary at the Embassy of India, said the conservation work of Seto Machindranath temple is the first of the 28 cultural heritage conservation and restoration projects being undertaken in line with the 5800 million rupees committed by India for the reconstruction of cultural-heritage sector.
"All the 28 sites were identified by Government of Nepal and both the countries had signed an MoU in this regard in August 2017," read the statement.
The Seto Machindranath Temple will be conserved as per Nepal's Ancient Monument Preservation Act, and the Department of Archaeology's Basic Guidelines and Manual for conservation and reconstruction of heritage sites affected by the 2015 earthquake.
According to the statement, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has been engaged to provide technical support during the conservation and restoration work as per the Detailed Project Report approved by the Government of Nepal.
High-ranking government officials, local representatives, Indian embassy staffs, among others were present at the foundation stone laying ceremony.
Nepal was hit by 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April 2015 claiming more than 8,000 lives and destroying properties worth millions rupees including cultural heritage sites.
