KATHMANDU, May 23: As many as 626 heritages were damaged by the April 25 devastating earthquake and aftershocks in the country. Of them, 137 were completely collapsed, while 489 remained partial damages.
As many as 229 shrines and heritages were ravaged in Kathmandu alone, Director General of the Archeology Department Bhesh Narayan Dahal said.
The Hanuman Dhoka, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur Darbar Squares, Kasthamandap, Bungmati based Rato Machhindranath and Bhairavnath and Mahadev temples of Tripureshwor, Changunarayan of Bhaktapur listed as the World Heritage Sites are destroyed or partially damaged by the quakes.
The pinnacles of the destroyed temples, remains of Kastamandap, Machhindranath, art and architectural idols, Machhandranath's bhoto, bells and other worshipping materials are handed to the Department for their safety and security, said Deputy Administrator of the Guthi Sansthan Saroj Thapaliya said.
"It is not necessary to doubt the security and safety of the heritage items. There were no chances that they would be misplaced or lost," said DG Dahal.
The heritages are kept in the Chhauni-based Museum, said Spokesperson of Department Ram Bahadur Kunwar. The officials at the Department have been carrying out search in coordination with security personnel, locals and Guthi Sansthan, said Kunwar.
Similarly, administrator at the Guthi Sansthan Narayan Chaudhary said, "Our organization has been working actively to rescue and preserve the valuable heritages and I would like to appeal one and all not to expresses any doubts whether they would be lost or misplaced." RSS