Thomas Bogaty

KATHMANDU:Tourist guides are busy cleaning and managing the debris and the scraps of the ruined UNESCO Heritage sites damaged by the devastating earthquake that jolted Nepal on April 25.

Many structures collapsed in Hanumandhoka Darbar Square —  Kasthamandap, Maju Dega, Narayan Vishnu temples, Trailokya Mohan, Chasin Dega and Old Drum. The Kakeshwar temple, King Malla’s Column, Shiva Parbati Temple, Gaddi Baithak and Basantapur Tower were partially damaged.

The collapsed and partially damaged structures generate huge amount of debris that need to be managed from the premises of the Square to make it pedestrian, tourist and visitor friendly. The debris comprises heavy wooden parts such as pillars, struts, windows and doors, large stones, bricks, sand, red mud, bamboo and metals.

The Nepali Army, the Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, along with volunteers, have been sorting out the scraps and managing debris. Among the volunteers were the city tourist guides who worked initially for search and rescue. Now they are helping in debris management from 6am-11am every morning. A Kathmandu preservation project operating under Kathmandu Metropolitan City is deploying 16 out of 32 of its city tourist guides for the debris management and to accumulate them in front of Gaddi Baithak and Shiva Parbati Temple.

Prakash Shahi of Kathmandu preservation project, said, “The debris management should be completed before opening the Square for tourists to reduce air and visual pollution. Accumulating them at suitable locations will make the Square neat and tidy,” he said, as he carried heavy wooden pillars on his shoulder.

With 18 years of experience as a tourist guide, Shahi knows that beautifying the Square will attract tourists, which ultimately will help him to earn a living. Before the quake he was making about Rs 500 a day by guiding the tourist around the square and other religious sites of the capital. “With tourist flow almost nil, the guides have faced financial crisis to meet their daily needs,” he said.

Toyanath Subedi, 33, secretary of Kathmandu preservation project, has been a guide for Chinese tourists for over 25 years. According to Subedi, the tourist flow in heritage sites has been reduced to nil due to excessive negative message disseminated by broadcasting and print media following the earthquake.

“The tourist flow can be increased by giving positive information about the safety, travel and lifestyle,” he said.