Nepal to lobby to keep Kathmandu on heritage site list

Nepal is set to lobby for maintaining the world heritage site status of Kathmandu valley, after the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee proposed to list the valley as ‘World Heritage in Danger’. The authorities will make a presentation at the WHC’s 43rd session to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from June 30 to July 10.
The WHC had listed Kathmandu valley as ‘property proposed for inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger’. But once a site got formally listed as ‘World Heritage in Danger’, it would be difficult to regain its previous status, and chances of getting it removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage Site would increase, according to the Department of Archaeology.
The department has prepared a comprehensive report to lobby for removing Kathmandu valley from proposed ‘World Heritage in Danger.’
This is not the first time that WHC has proposed to list Kathmandu valley as ‘World Heritage in Danger.’ Kathmandu valley had been in the proposed list after the 2015 devastating earthquake for the reason that ‘Nepal may not rebuild the heritage destroyed by the earthquake.’
But the department is confident that the committee will vote in Nepal’s favour after hearing the success story of rebuilding the heritage sites, into their original forms by complying with the standard archaeological principals. The decision made by majority – out of the representatives of 21 WHC member countries taking part in the conference – will be final regarding enlisting sites as ‘World Heritage in Danger.’
A team led by secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Mohan Krishna Sapkota and Department of Archaeology chief will participate the WHC’s forty-third session in Baku.

Nepal Telecom withdraws from Dharahara reconstruction

Nepal Telecom will not reconstruct the historic Dharahara tower – one of Kathmandu’s iconic landmarks – that was collapsed in the devastating earthquake two years ago.
Citing the government's failure in assuring security to its investment, the telecom service provider said that it will, however, donate Rs 1 billion to the government for the project as it had committed earlier.
The Nepal Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has already been informed about the NT's decision, according to the telecommunication service provider.
Earlier, the government had designed the model for Dharahara with an estimated cost of Rs 4 billion. But, the government plan has been pushed into limbo after the NT pulled out of the project.
The telecom service provider decided not to take the responsibility as the government did not agree on its proposal to construct a commercial shopping complete on the premises, apart from opposition from the local cultural communities that has been asking to rebuild Dharahara according to the design proposed by Department of Archaeology. NT had proposed to add more features in the vicinity of Dharahara, such as a fountain, space for cultural music and a modern garden, which NT believed was required to ensure sustainability of Dharahara.
However, the government insisted that the premises should be left open.
The government’s design of Dharahara also stated that 70 per cent of the total area used for Dharahara reconstruction had to be left vacant. However, this is not possible as a portion of the land meant for rebuilding Dharahara is a holy site where different communities perform various rituals.
The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) accepted that it has received a letter from NT yesterday stating the company’s unwillingness to rebuild the monument in the heart of the city. "The NT has informed us that it is unable to rebuild Dharahara according to design of the government,” informed NRA spokesperson Yam Lal Bhoosal. "
The NRA will take up the issue in the Cabinet soon, as the council of ministers had authorised NT to rebuild Dharahara
The historical monument was to spread over only four ropanis of land but according to the Department of Archaeology proposed design is spread over 30 ropanis of land.
The Department of Archaeology had earlier come up with a design to preserve the ravaged structure of Dharahara at the same location as a memorial to those, who were killed in the earthquake and a new 245-feet, 11-storeyed Dharahara would be built at the site where the General Post Office is located.
Meanwhile, Bhoosal said the authority was likely to take it upon itself to initiate the Dharahara reconstruction process.

Earthquake strikes Nepal, hundreds dead, history crumbled

A powerful earthquake struck at 11.56 am today suspected to be killing hundreds and injuring thousands across the country.
The quake epicentered at some 80-km northwest of Kathmandu had a depth of only 11-km, which is considered shallow in geological terms. The shallower the quake the more destructive power it carries and it is said that the trembling and swaying of the earth went on for almost two minutes.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake violently shook earth collapsing houses, leveling centuries-old temples and historical monuments at world heritage sites, and cutting open roads. The worst tremor to hit Nepal in over 82 years has brought down the centuries old temples in world heritage sites in all the three cities – Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur Durbar Square – in the valley, apart from nine-storey Bhimsen Tower. The historic tower –Dharahara – one of Kathmandu's landmarks built by the then prime minister Bhimsen Thapa as a watchtower in the 1800s. A UNESCO-recognised historical monument, Dharahara has been reduced to rubble in minutes and it is suspected that over hundred people are trapped underneath. Due to a holiday, there was a long queue of people to go up to the viewing platform on the eighth story. Bhimsen Tower collapsed followed by the centuries old temples in world heritage sites with clouds of dust swirling all around the city.
The Gorkha-centred earthquake – though expected – has hit the densely populated Kathmandu valley harder than it has been expected as the people are seen running out of the houses and buildings to the open. It is said some one dozen districts have been hit hard by the devastating earthequake.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake is said to be spreading in all directions – from north toward the Himalayas and Tibet, south to the Indo-Gangetic plains, east toward the Brahmaputra delta of Bangladesh and to west toward the Lahore in Pakistan. The US Geological Survey revised the magnitude from 7.5 to 7.9 but then lowered it to 7.8.
The second worst earthquake to hit Nepal after 1934 has also hit India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Apart from Nepal, some more people are said to be killed in India, Tibet and Bangladesh, according to the police sources. Two Chinese citizens also died at the Nepal-China border. "Given the scale of the destruction, the death toll is going to rise," according to the Home Ministry.
An hour later, another 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit back followed by smaller aftershocks that continue to jolt the nation for hours. The injured were rushed to hospitals. Tribhuvan International Airport has been shut down immediately after the earthquake.