GORKHA, April 29: The renovation of Manakamana Temple which, according to a report by a technical committee of Department of Archaeology (DOA), has tilted six inches sideways has finally begun. Apart from the bend from its original position, the temple´s roof was leaking since the last few months.
According to renovation committee members, the woods used in temple have also decayed and rodents have eaten away the walls that are about to collapse.
Though the total estimated cost of renovation is Rs 80 million, only a fraction of that amount has been collected so far. The government offered only 10 million for the renovation.
“So we started collecting money from the willing donors,” said Narendra Babu Shrestha, coordinator of the renovation committee. Moreover, they have also requested Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai during his recent visit to the district to provide additional amount for the renovation.
The committee has already bought timbers worth Rs 6.4 million from the Timber Corporation of Bharatpur as the temple is mostly built of wood.
The woods will be carved before they are used in the temple, said Saubhagya Pradhanang, assistant secretary at the archaelogy department.
Though the talks about renovation of Mankamana Temple, a historically and archaeologically important heritage, had been doing rounds for many years, it could not be carried out in want of huge budget.
The process of renovation geared up only after the technical team of DOA in its report recommended immediate repair of the temple.
The temple will be completely renovated within two years time. Before this, some repair works had been carried out in the temple in 1969. This is the first time that the temple is going to be renovated completely.
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