Guthi Sansthan’s decision to call tenders for renting Manakamana temple’s Dharmalsala courts controversy

KATHMANDU, June 20: Guthi Sansthan’s decision to call tenders for renting the Dharamshala (pilgrims’ rest house) of Manakamana Temple, a famous religious site in Gorkha district, has courted controversy. Local residents protested against the decision of Guthi Sansthan to call for tenders to rent the Dharamshala which lies in front of the temple.

Local resident Dinesh Shrestha said that the Guthiyars [members of the Guthi (trust)] and locals have protested saying the Dharmashala should be operated in such a way that that the local residents as well as devotees who come to the temple can get accommodation facilities at a lower cost. They also made it clear that the Dharmamshala should not be operated as a business.

The local residents have expressed their disagreement, stating that it is wrong to seek to run business operations in opposition to the master plan of Manakamana Area Development Trust. Bhim Bahadur Shrestha, the head of Mankamana Guthi, said that Mankamana Guthi has sent a letter to Guthi Sansthan requesting the cancellation of the letter issued previously on June 17 allowing operating a hotel business at the Dharmashala.

The letter sent by Manakamana Guthi states, “Despite informing the Guthi Sansthan that the Dharmashala has become dilapidated and has been designated as risky with a red mark during the technical inspection after the earthquake of 2015, and requesting the reconstruction of the Dharmashala, it is completely against public opinion to call for tenders.”

The letter mentions that Manakamana Guthi family and the entire community are strongly opposed to using the building for commercial purposes, and they are determined to resist any attempts if they try to bring the building back into commercial use. According to local residents, after the Gorkha earthquake of 2015, a master plan was prepared to develop the Mankamana Temple along with the Dharamshala itself and provide services to the devotees.

According to the master plan, the Manakamana Area Development Committee has set the goal of developing the area behind Dharamsala as a forest picnic spot. Shrestha said that because bids were invited again ignoring the request of the local residents, it could be a big financial scam.

Hari Shrestha, president of Mankamana Unit of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that despite the all-round opposition, Guthi Sansthan's silence on this issue is even more suspicious. He mentioned that the Dharmashala should be rebuilt and operated as a Dharmashala, not for any other commercial purposes, and should not be rented out for business activities under any circumstances.

For the past 40 years, Guthi Sansthan had been renting Dharamshala to people for commercial purposes and earning income. Issuing a public notice on June 14, the Guthi Sansthan has invited applications for leasing the Dharmashala for business operations. However, the residents of Manakamana have started protesting, stating their opposition to operating a hotel in the Dharmashala. The Guthi Sansthan has set a monthly minimum rent of Rs 100,000 for the Dharmashala, as mentioned in the invitation for tender.

‘Path of reconciliation instead of Conflict’

Meanwhile, Gorkha Municipality has provided basic reconciliation training to 50 individuals from within the municipality. Mayor Krishna Bahadur Rana Magar said that the local government plays a role in resolving disputes that arise at the community level and that the mediators have been provided with foundational reconciliation training, including legal knowledge.

Mayor Rana Magar stated that training has been provided to mediators sent by 14 wards within the municipality in collaboration with the ‘Natural Resource Conflict Transformation Center-Nepal’. The training, titled "Path of Reconciliation Instead of Conflict," started on Monday and will be conducted for eight days.

"They have been provided training as mediators in order to resolve common disputes in the villages at the local level," he said. "They have been provided with knowledge on how to resolve conflicts and provide information on legal remedies for various issues."

He said that the training was effective in enabling the mediators to resolve small disputes in the village, as they could become bigger and more complicated later if they could not be resolved in time. Mayor Rana Magar also asked the mediators who have received basic training on reconciliation to take the initiative to make Gorkha Municipality a judicial, model and exemplary municipality.

The mediators participating in the training were given orientation by four trainers on the current laws and laws of Nepal. Deputy Mayor of the municipality, Masali Maya Thokar, said that after the participants get the basic knowledge about reconciliation, it will be easier for them to resolve local disputes at the ward level. The participants in the training were distributed certificates by Mayor Rana Magar in a program on Monday.