LALITPUR, Jan 14: "Pilachhen area was visited by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 400 BC and he built an Ashoka stupa there," noted historian and culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi said at a briefing on the Pilachhen rebuilding effort. It is a place of such history that is being restored through citizen initiative in the aftermath of April-May earthquakes .
At a time when the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is still just getting started, prominent citizens have stepped in to rebuild earthquake-ravaged Pilachhen, a Maharjan neighborhood in Lalitpur city. Of the 110 houses in the locality, 82 were completely destroyed in the earthquakes and three locals perished. The rebuilding initiative will cost Rs 560 million and the project will be completed within two years.
Dr. Sanduk Ruit of Tilganaga Institute of Ophthalmology has pledged Rs 40 million for the project and Dr. Ramesh Adhikari of Choice Nepal, a local NGO, likewise pledged Rs 5 million. The project aims to raise at least 25 percent of the total cost from donors, with the rest to be secured through loans from financial institutions against collateral from the locals themselves.
Ramesh Maharjan, chairman of Maya Foundation, is leading the initiative with the active involvement of Dr. Govinda Pokharel, former vice chairman of the National Planning Commission, former member Dr. Swarnim Wagle, former chief secretary Lila Mani Poudyal, and Satya Mohan Joshi.
The project aims at the cultural and economic transformation of the Pilachhen community. Houses and courtyards at Pilachhen will be designed to preserve local aesthetics and tradition. Historical and cultural identity will be safeguarded, and the constructions will be designed to withstand future earthquakes.
The buildings will be in full compliance with the standards floated by the government. Pilachhen will have four-storey buildings -- the ground floor for businesses, the first and second floors for home stay, and third and fourth for residential purposes.
The project will be officially inaugurated Saturday.
Related story
All houses look similar in Sindhuli after reconstruction
