By A Staff Reporter
Lalitpur, June 16: The Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) has signed an agreement with the Rajdal Batallion of the Nepal Army to reconstruct two historic ponds in Lagankhel currently located on the latter’s premises. The agreement was signed on Sunday by Lalitpur Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan and Rajdal Battalion Commander Sumit Bikram Rana.
Signing the agreement, Mayor Maharjan mentioned that the ponds, known locally as Palé Swan Pukhu translating to Lotus Ponds in English, were an ancient heritage of the city.
“If the ponds are revived, water will once again start gushing out of our city’s stone spouts,” he remarked.
Maharjan also shared his childhood memories associated with the ponds. “The land that Rajdal Battalion occupies was once a football ground. We used to play there all day long and then swim in the ponds to freshen up. I learned to swim in these ponds,” he said, adding that it was his personal wish to have lotuses bloom in the lotus ponds once again.
Similarly, Deputy Mayor Gita Satyal claimed that restoring the ponds would be religiously and culturally significant for the city. She said that the metropolis had prioritised the conservation of open spaces, greenery and water sources.
Battalion Commander Rana called heritage conservation the responsibility of all and said that the Rajdal Battalion understood the importance of the ponds. “Various organisations have asked us to provide the land [of the pond] for various purposes. But the Batallion, aware of the historical importance, was adamant and said that the pond should be reconstructed,” he said.
Following the agreement, work on reconstructing and restoring the two ponds, spread over an area of 30 Ropanis, will begin from the coming fiscal year, LMC informed. The ponds will be rebuilt under LMC’s green and blue project which prioritises the construction and reconstruction of parks and ponds for a clean environment.