KATHMANDU, Feb 22: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Prem Bahadur Ale has claimed to retrieve the inn (Dharamshala) in the Pashupatinath Area from the Batas Group and bring it under the ownership of the government.
Speaking at a program organized by the Main Ceremony Organizing Committee of the Maha Shivaratri festival 2021, Minister Ale said that Dharamshala will be retrieved as soon as possible as the court has also rejected the short-term order brought by the government in its decision to remove the Batas group.
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Stating the former representatives had sold the Dharamshala at a very unreasonable price, Ale stressed that such acts will not be tolerated from now onward. He also shared that preparations are underway to celebrate the Maha Shivaratri in a grander and more civilized manner.
Minister Ale also directed the bodies concerned to make every effort necessary for the festival. The Maha Shivaratri falls on the first of March this year.
Furthermore, member Dr Milan Kumar Thapa of the Pashupati Area Development Trust said that the trust has estimated about 1 million attendees in the Pashupatinath area on the day of Maha Shivaratri. He said that the main function committee and 10 different sub-committees have been formed under the chairmanship of Tourism Minister Prem Bahadur Ale for the successful completion of the festival.
Similarly, as many as 10,000 security personnel will be deployed in the area on the day. Thapa said that digital lights would be provided for the convenience of the visitors on that day and the trust would be alerted for the food and accommodation of the saints and sadhus coming to the temple area. He also said that special monitoring and strict measures would be taken to make the area free of alcohol and drugs on the day of the Maha Shivaratri festival.
