Dharahara to be handed over within govt’s 100 days

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 10: Preparations are now underway to hand over the Dharahara to the government before the present government completes the first 100 days in the office.

However, the tower inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli during his earlier stint on April 24, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, will be handed over without restoring the Sundhara (stone spout) and without preserving the remains of the old Dharahara that collapsed in the 2015 earthquake.

The Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU) of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction under the Ministry of Urban Development is preparing to complete the remaining works by the last week of September and hand it over to the government.

Kosh Nath Adhikari, Project Director of CLPIU, said that 96 per cent of the physical works of the new Dharahara project have been completed. “We are working to complete 100 per cent construction of the Dharahara project by the end of September,” he said.

The preservation task of the remains of the old Dharahara and renovation works of Sundhara will be left as they are in the present condition. “No work on these two will move forward,” Adhikari added.

Locals and heritage activists had agreed to proceed ahead with the new Dharahara project only after the then National Reconstruction Authority ((NRA) promised that it would carry out works related to the preservation of the Sundhara and the remains of the old Dharahara tower.

However, these two works are being abandoned at the end of the new Dharahara project. As a result, when other new structures stand adding beauty to the area, the Sundhara and the remains of the old Dharahara will be an eyesore.

The five-year plus term of the NRA expired without doing anything to renovate Sundhara and preserve the remains of the fallen Dharahara.

Even 40 months after PM Oli inaugurated the new Dharahara by organising an extravagant programme amid the growing fear of COVID-19, it remains incomplete and has not been open to the public. The PM has already inquired about the delay in completing the Dharahara project.

According to Adhikari, the main physical construction works have been completed. “Now the works to fix the electrical equipment and paint it are going on. He informed that the work of laying the cable has been completed. Only the installation of electrical equipment and fitting bulbs are left.

Works of painting, putting firefighting equipment and other facilities like air conditioning and heating systems are now underway, he added.

The main construction work of the project is likely to be completed in around six years. But, still, the construction of the museum building, which is one of the major structures of the new Dharahara project, has not been completed.

The construction of the museum building will continue even after handing over the project to the government, he said. “The museum building is located separate from the boundary of the new Dharahara structure so it will not affect the opening of the tower for the public,” he said. Although the construction of the new Dharahara has reached the final stage, the modalities of its operation have not yet been decided.

“The modalities will be decided by the government,” he said. At present, underground parking is in operation under the management of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City in the basement of the new Dharahara.

Construction of the project began in November 2018. Over the years, the project deadline was extended six times. The latest deadline for the construction of the project will expire on October 6, 2024.