Works to restore Saptapatal Pokhari of Lagankhel begins

BY A STAFF REPORTER,Lalitpur, Dec. 29: Works for the restoration of Saptapatal Pokhari, in Lagankhel, Lalitpur have begun. Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) has begun restoration works of Saptapatal Pokhari, which was earlier encroached by Namuna Machchhindra School (NMS) 

The pond that has religious, traditional and historical importance was on the verge of extinction after the construction of a commercial complex in the pond area.The school has encroached the land in the north of the pond and has opened an alternative track from the west part of the pond.

After the long dispute with the school management, the Supreme Court on 18 June, 2019 gave a verdict that the land belongs to the Saptapatal Pokhari, and the management of the NMS has no right to use it. 

The Supreme Court in the verdict stated that plot no. 112 of the land was illegally registered in the name of the school management and should be reregistered in the name Saptapatal Pokhari.  After the verdict, the land has been returned to Saptapatal Pokhari

Purna Sthapit, a local and Saptapatal Preservation Activist of Lagankhel had filed the cased at the Supreme Court in 2004 demanding that the encroachment of Saptapatal land should be controlled.  

The LMC has begun preservation work after the Supreme Court verdict. Padam Sundar Joshi, a stone spout and pond expert, late Prakash Amatya, sky water expert, Surendra Shrestha, hydrologist expert and Puspaman Amatya have prepared the Detail Project Report (DPR) of Saptapatal pond. 

The restoration works in the pond have been going on for a month now. Chiri Babu Maharajan, mayor of Lalitpur Sub-Municipality City, said that they had already allocated Rs. 50 million to fence the area of Saptaptal Pokhari, Kamal Pokhari and surroundings of Ashoka Stupa. 

   He further said that two Kamal Pokharis, located in the southern part and south-west part of Saptapatal Pokhari, would be restored and Rs. 10 million has been allocated to fence them.   The two Kamal Pokharis, which come under the boundary of Rajdal Battalion will be restored and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajdal Battalion has been inked for the same.  “Our plan is to let the lotus flower bloom in both ponds in the coming days after restoration,”  he said. 

The master plan of Saptapatal Pokhari has already been prepared. According to it,  a garden, an inn and a surrounding track in the pond area will be built by maintaining the natural beauty, and the historical, religious and traditional importance of the pond.  Mayor Maharajan further said that Saptapatal Pokhari will be restoration in its original form  and the process to demolish the illegally built school building has started, he said.