Kathmandu, September 2

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City today conducted a preliminary damage assessment of the Shiva Temple centrally located in Rani Pokhari.

The KMC team was assisted by Sudarshan Raj Tiwari, urban planner and architect, and structural engineer Prem Nath Maskey.

Tiwari informed that cracks were spotted in the temple. The bridge connecting the temple has also suffered damage and needs to be repaired. Likewise, the walls surrounding the temple have developed minor cracks.

He said the damage to the bridge and temple can be repaired using the underpinning method.

Shriju Pradhan, chief of Heritage Conservation and Tourism Promotion Section at the KMC, said they also spotted damage to the dome of the temple. The dome must be ripped apart for total damage assessment. Before doing this, the design of the temple should be documented and sketched so that it retains its origination shape after reconstruction.

“The reconstruction of Rani Pokhari is likely to begin after Dashain,” said Pradhan.

However, the damage assessment of the Rani Pokhari pond has yet to be conducted. Pradhan said the pond will be taken into consideration during the detailed damaged assessment.