Mayadevi Temple’s leaking roof to be repaired

By Laxman Paudel Bhairahawa, July 13: The roof of the Mayadevi Temple has been leaking for the last 18 years. Every time it rains, water drips down on to the millennia-old relics which witnessed, first hand, the birth of Lord Gautam Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal. But only now are the relevant authorities looking to renovate it. 

A team comprising officials and technicians of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) and the World Heritage Section of the Department of Archaeology (DoA) have carried out an on-site visit to determine the best way to preserve this monument.

Sanuraja Shakya, member secretary of the LDT, told The Rising Nepal that the Trust and other stakeholders took the water leakage seriously and assured that the repair works would begin immediately. 

“We will take any and all necessary steps to stop the leaks without delay,” he said, adding, “We had planned to carry out renovation and preservation works on the temple a few years ago but had to stop due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it entailed.” According to Shakya, Thaipung Thai, a Buddhist institution based in Thailand, was ready to carry out the renovation three years ago. 

They had sent a design proposal to the Trust in 2019 where they had expressed their interest to bear all the costs too. 

The organisation had also forwarded an action plan along with the proposal which stated that it would work from August to December and meet all the standards set out by the LDT, DoA and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

According to the LDT, Thaipung cannot begin work right away because the monsoon rains might damage the World Heritage Site when the temple’s roof is dismantled.

The Mayadevi Temple, built in the name of Buddha’s mother, was completely reconstructed in 2003 at a cost of Rs. 60 million. 

However, just a year later, the roof started leaking, raising fears that the rainwater seeping inside could damage the bricks, stones and other ancient artefacts there dating back to around the seventh century BC.

Gyanin Rai, chief of the administration section of the Lumbini Trust, shared that the iron beams supporting the roof of the temple had also rusted. “This means that the entire roof is in danger of collapsing,” he said.

He added, “The design of the Mayadevi temple now should be supervised by national and international experts and needs to be implemented only with the consensus of all stakeholders.”