Rasuwa Gadhi walls falling apart

RASUWA, July 9: The walls of Rasuwa Gadhi are falling apart due to the use of heavy equipment and rampant extraction of gravel and soil for the ongoing construction of a bridge along Nepal´s border with China´s Tibet, just a stone throw away from the site of the historic fort.



Four metres of the fort´s wall has already fallen down while cracks have been developed along more than 150 years old monument.

The local administration, however, is trying to fudge the issue. [break]



"Recent torrential downpour is responsible for the damage," says the Chief District Officer Basudev Ghimire, adding that the government will take initiatives to "conserve" the structure.



Shortly after the agreement between Nepal and China to construction the Friendship bridge at Timure VDC in the district a few years back, the Department of Archeology had the government not to go ahead with the construction of the bridge at the site of the fort.



The construction work began only last year after the department gave a conditional approval for the construction of the bridge: to construct it at least a foot above the fort, and in such a manner that it wouldn´t have any impact on the structure.



Following the green signal, a team of Nepali and Chinese officers had sealed an agreement for the construction of the bridge.

However, the use of excavator and other heavy equipment at the construction site has left the fort on the verge of destruction.

Once a major landmark along the age-old trade route between Nepal and Tibet, the fort was instrumental for the victory of the Nepali side Nepal-Tibet wars during the rule of Bahadur Shah and Jung Bahadur Rana.

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