Himalayan News Service

Hetaunda, February 11

It linked the Terai with Kathmandu before the Tribhuvan highway was constructed.

It was a different story when Bhimphedi was the headquarters of Makwanpur district, and before people took to buses to reach Bhimphedigadhi, Deurali, Chitlang, Chandragiri and Thankot.

But today it is a ghost of what it used to be. And the Chisapani Fort too is going to ruins.

The situation worsened after the security forces, posted there for the last 36 years, were shifted to the headquarters due to security reasons.

The elderly still remember the time when the Kalitop canon was fired from this fort to scare the British forces away, who had camped at Amlekhgunj of Bara preparing to attack the capital.

While they were posted there, the security personnel had banned any photographs of the Kalitop canon. But after their departure, locals say every Tom, Dick and Harry is clicking away to glory. They say that many smaller canons and bullets can still be found in the fort premises.

A special budget had been allocated during the time of the Bada Hakims to offer sacrifices at the two temples in the fort — Kalitop and Batuk Bhairav.

The Bhimphedi Village Development Committee today has managed to keep priests to perform the daily pujas there, said the former chairman of the VDC, Shiv Shankar Rajbahak.

Locals have demanded proper repair and maintenance of the fort, which is of prime importance for historians and students of history.

Residents said the Bada Hakim building, where permit letters to people travelling to and from Kathmandu were issued, has also cracked.

They warned that if necessary measures were not taken immediately, then the building would soon collapse.