By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Aug. 4: Work on the restoration of the religiously and historically significant Saptapatal Pond of Lagankhel is finally set to begin.
Encroachment of the pond and the canals feeding it has almost wiped out the pond. The water body which once spread in an area of 14 Ropani 10 Anna and two Paisa land has currently diminished to less than a quarter of that. Moreover, the pond has lost all its water and is completely covered by grass, weeds and garbage.
During the Panchayat period, Namuna Machhindra School was allowed to encroach upon the northern part of the pond and build over it.
Later, it also took over the western portion and constructed a path there. In 2003, the school claimed ownership of whatever was left of the pond and began work to construct a commercial complex over it.
The locals opposed this move and the dispute reached the Supreme Court which, on July 8, 2019, ruled that the land, registered under plot no. 112, belonged to the Saptapatal Pond and the school had no right to claim ownership of it. The court had previously made the same ruling in 2004.
The ruling paved the way for the locals to begin restoring the pond. They are currently being aided by the Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) which has allocated Rs. 50 million to fence the entire area of the Saptapatal Pond as well as the two nearby Lotus Ponds.
Chiri Babu Maharjan, Mayor of Lalitpur, informed that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the revival of the pond was almost complete. “We are currently correcting some mistakes which were pointed out to us in the preliminary drafts of the report. Once that is finished, the report will be finalised,” he said.
Maharjan further said that the metropolis was working to restore the twin Lotus Ponds, located to the south and south-west of Saptapatal Pond, as well. The LMC recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rajdal Batallion of the Nepal Army to revive the ponds situated on its premises.
According to Mayor Maharjan, Namuna Machhindra will be limited to its original three Ropanis of land and the demolition of its buildings will start once the terms of reference for the pond restoration project are drafted.
Meanwhile, a master plan has been drawn for the revival of Saptapatal Pond while maintaining its historical, religious and cultural importance. As per the plan, the larger pond area will have gardens, inns and a track going around it.
Local activist Ajay Lama said that the metropolis needed to begin reconstructing the pond as soon as possible.
“We waged a long and arduous struggle for the survival of this pond. Now, with the Supreme Court’s order, work needs to begin immediately before any party or entity has a chance to intervene and hinder the restoration,” he said.