By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Mar. 28: The reconstruction works of the roof of Kasthamandap has been delayed in a lack of wood.

Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee (KRC) recently brought 600 cubic feet of wood that will be used to complete the remaining work of the inner section of the Kasthamandap.

The construction works of the pinnacle has not moved ahead in lack of appropriate wooden logs, said Gautam Dangol, secretary of Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee (KRC).

“It requires 1,900 cubic feet of timber to complete the reconstruction works of Kasthamandap. Work on the roof will start with the arrival of wood,” he said.

The construction of the wooden monument is moving ahead applying traditional methods. There has been no use of machine and cranes to erect the posts and set up heavy beams.

The four major 14-by-14 inches wooden posts and 32 10-by-10 inches wooden posts have been erected on the ground floor. Dangol said that Kasthmandap is being rebuilt keeping documentation of all works. It will be useful for future generations to get knowledge about the reconstruction process, working methods, materials used and their placement.

In total, 100 wooden posts of different sizes are used on the ground floor. Kasthamandap is a three-storey historic public shelter located at Basantapur in Kathmandu.

Recently, works are in progress for placing traditional wooden windows on the southern side of the structure after completion of the eastern side.
As per the earlier estimation of the further need of 1,900 cubic feet of timber, the wooden raw materials for the reconstruction are being brought from Rautahat and Hetauda.

The committee has stated that Rs. 47 million had been invested and more than 4,000 cubic feet of timber was used to reconstruct the historical monument.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has provided Rs. 5 million for the reconstruction of the wooden shelter of high archaeological value in the current fiscal year. However, KMC had provided Rs. 5.5 million in the last fiscal year, he informed.

As per the estimation of KMC and the Department of Archaeology (DoA), it needs Rs. 198.8 million to complete the work.