ASI seeks MEA nod to repair Pashupatinath

Apart from the usual repairs the temple structure needs,years of soot deposit on the surface has drawn ASIs attention.

One of the most revered pilgrim centres of Nepal the Lord Pashupatinath temple is in need of urgent repair and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is being roped in for the job by the neighbouring Himalyan

nation.

Apart from the usual repairs the temple structure needs,years of soot deposit on the surface has drawn ASIs attention. An ASI team has already visited the Kathmandu temple and submitted a preliminary report to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The ASI has projected that the repair and restoration of the ancient Shiva temple,also a UNESCO World Heritage Site,could cost Rs 14-15 crore.

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The temple stands next to river Bagmati and the ghats where cremations have been carried out for centuries. As a result,there is considerable deposit of soot on the temple walls and surface. The ASI has suggested that this should be scientifically cleaned. It has also been recommended that pollution monitoring stations be set up close to the temple, senior ASI officials told The Indian Express.

However,the project to restore the glory of the temple,can be carried out only after the MEA approves it and works out a funding mechanism as all international ASI works are routed through MEA.

An initial report has been submitted and a detailed project report will be worked on after the funding is cleared,ASI officials said.

Recently,the status of the Pashupatinath monuments as a World Heritage Site came under a cloud with the UNESCO warning Nepal that unless it blocks a road near the site,renovates old structures and builds a compound wall around the temple complex,it could risk losing the special status.

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Restoring and repairing a functional temple also means the ASI teams will have to work through several phases to conduct the exercise in such a way that the temple rituals and visitors to the temple are not hampered.

The temple is in the form of a square pagoda that stands at the centre of a courtyard. The two-storey temple is decorated and covered with artistically designed gold,silver and bronze plates.

Nepals Department of Archeology said that while the area was developed as a pilgrim site in the Lichhavi period,the present shape of the temple was 300 years old.

Pashupati area has numerous temples of different styles developed over a period of time.