Garbha Palace of Kailali in dilapidated condition

By Abinash Chaudhary,Dhangadhi, Apr. 5: The once grand Garbha Palace in Khairala, Chure Rural Municipality–4, Kailali, today lies dilapidated and neglected.

The 96-year-old palace has not been used for 23 years. The roof and walls have begun to collapse. The doors and windows have fallen out. The artistic statues that were present here in the past have all been stolen. The attractive building is presently in ruins.

Chairman of Chure Rural Municipality Chakra Bahadur Bogati said that the historic Durbar needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. "It is too decrepit to be repaired or renovated," he said. "We have no other option but to demolish and reconstruct it."

According to locals, the foundation for the Garbha Palace was laid in 1922. It took five years to complete and was opened in 1927 to function as a tax collection office and a court to hear and settle cases. 

At the time of construction, the three-storeyed palace had 82 windows and 53 windows and special corrugated sheets had been brought from Japan for its roofing. But none of that splendour exists in the structure that stands today.

To rebuild the palace and return it to its former glory, the Sudurpashchim government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) at a cost of Rs. 200 million. However, Bogati said that work had not moved forward because the Department of Archaeology (DoA) had not yet given permission. 

"The DPR was made three years ago but the DoA has not given permission to demolish and reconstruct the palace because it is not 100 years old yet," he said, adding that the Department was expected to give permission in a few years after the palace completed a century of existence and became a national monument.

Bogati told The Rising Nepal that the provincial government sought to tear down the existing building and rebuild it in its original style to attract tourists. "There are several roads leading to Khairala so access is not a problem. We can develop this place as a great tourism destination," he said.

Up until 2000, Garbha Palace used to house the local post office and the village development committee. But that year, it was set on fire by the then rebelling Maoists. The Durbar has not been maintained since then. 

Former Ward Chairman Krishna Malla informed that the provincial government had allocated a budget of Rs. 5 million in the fiscal year 2020/21. But it was frozen because the work could not move forward.

The palace was first known as the Shree Bahadur Shumsher Durbar. But as it is located in a place named Bharga in Khairala, it later acquired the name Garbha. Although it was built by Khadak Shamsher, it is said that Garbha Palace came under the ownership of Lieutenant General Bahadur Shamsher when the Ranas partitioned it. Today though, it does not have a formal owner.