Kathmandu, February 12

The tradition of lighting fire and staying awake throughout the night of Mahashivaratri, to some extent, threatens and puts historical wooden heritages and wooden structures of Kathmandu Valley in danger. There exists high risk that woodcraft from heritages that were damaged by the 2015 earthquakes could  be burnt.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has acknowledged the cultural practice of burning firewood in the festival and has taken initiative to prevent it from being stolen for festival firewood. As per KMC, it is necessary to make people aware about preservation of wooden heritages.

Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi today said that wood could be stolen for the occasion and alerted all ward chiefs to maintain security around historically important wooden structures.