The Hanumandhoka Palace Museum Development Committee (HPMDC) will submit a report on the damages to the Ministry of Culture and Department of Archaeology on Wednesday seeking swift initiation of conservation effort. [break]
“Walls of many culturally important structures in and around the palace museum have developed cracks, some as wide as four inches, due to the quake´s impact,” said Saraswati Singh, executive director of HPMDC.
“Of them, walls of the structure adjoining the nine-storey palace and walls to the south of Panchamukhi Hanuman Temple need to be reinforced as soon as possible,” she said.
Walls of the structure adjoining the 18th century nine-storey palace in Basantapur, built during the time of Prithvi Narayan Shah, have developed cracks as wide as two inches.
Similarly, walls to the south of the five-storey Panchamukhi Hanuman Temple built in the 17th century by Pratap Malla have developed cracks as wide as four inches, according to Singh.
“Our technicians are studying the cracks. We were hoping to submit a report to Ministry of Culture and Department of Archaeology today (Tuesday) itself. But the cracks appeared to be more widespread than we had thought. We will submit our report that will include the cost estimate of conservation on Wednesday,” Singh said.
Apart from these two areas, at least five more areas have developed cracks, Singh said.
A structure to the west of Mohanchowk, also built during Pratap Malla´s times, is left with dislocated walls. Similarly, the west-facing walls of Aagam temple have also developed cracks.
The west-facing walls of the second floor of what now houses Tribhuvan Museum also have cracks. This structure was built during Jung Bahadur Rana´s time. The south-western corner of Nasal chowk has developed cracks as well. And so has the corner located to the south-eastern part of Gaddhi Baithak.
Rishikesh Niraula, chief of Cultural Section of the Ministry of Culture, said the ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance for budget to reinforce the structures at Hanumandhoka.
“We are awaiting their (HPMDC´s) report,” said Niraula, adding, “Fortunately, there is no information so far of damage to other culturally and archeologically important structure in the country. From the information so far, we assume Hanumandhoka is the only place affected by the quake.”
The task of reinforcing and conserving the structures at Hanumandhoka will have to be done following norms set for UNESCO World Heritage sites.
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