By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 21: Reconstruction and repairing works on 587 of the 920 temples damaged in the 2015 earthquake have been completed as of July.
Of them, 116 are in the World Heritage Site (WHS). Likewise, reconstruction of 241 temples in the Kathmandu Valley, and 230 outside of it have been finished.
The devastating earthquake had ravaged 920 big and small temples, shrines and rest houses across the country, including 406 temples in three ancient cities of the valley and 344 temples in 29 of the 31 districts.
At the moment, reconstruction work is going on in 194 temples.

The latest record of the Planning Division of the Department of Archeology (DoA) shows that 587 of the destroyed temples, including those in the WHS have already been rebuilt or repaired, while rebuilding process of 194 temples is going on.
But 139 temples and shrines, including three cities of the valley and 11 from the WHS are still awaiting reconstruction. The DoA has planned to complete 194 ongoing projects in the fiscal year 2021/22.
Ram Bahadur Kunwar, spokesperson for the DoA, said that the ongoing projects had been given top priority over new ones.

“The pandemic, technical problem and shortage of manpower have delayed the reconstruction works, despite having sufficient budget,” he said, adding, “We are determined to complete the ongoing works in this fiscal year.”
The DoA has planned to begin new 202 projects in the fiscal year 2021/22.
In the current fiscal year, Rs. 1.73 billion has been allocated for reconstruction work of temples and shrines. Of that amount, over Rs. 16 million has been earmarked for the reconstruction of 26 dilapidated monasteries aged over 100 years.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the monasteries is being prepared, according to the DoA.
Around 10 temples, including Dasavatar, Jaisidewal, Radha Krishna of Patan, Fasidega of Bhaktapur and Umamaheshwor of Patan will be completed within five months, said the DoA.