Kathmandu, July 5: Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav inaugurated the Budhanilkantha Dharmashala (Atithi Griha) at Budhanilkantha Municipality on Wednesday. Other participants in the event were Swami Nigamananda, Mathadhis of the Budhanilkantha Temple, Members of Parliament,  Gagan Kumar Thapa and Pradeep Paudel, and Prasanna Shrivastava, Chargé d'affaires, Embassy of India, Kathmandu. Dr. Shivraj Pandit, Chief of Guthi Sansthan, representatives of Budhanilkantha Temple Committee, officials from the Government of Nepal and the Embassy of India, Kathmandu were also present on this event.

The Dharmashala has been built with Government of India’s grant assistance of around NRs. 5 crore. The project was taken up under the post-earthquake reconstruction grant in the cultural heritage sector in Nepal. The Dharmashala building, which got damaged during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, has now been reconstructed as per Department of Archaeology’s Basic Guidelines and Manual for conservation and reconstruction of heritage affected by 2015 earthquake. The project was implemented by Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU - Building & Housing), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction Government of Nepal.

The new three and half storied Dharmashala will serve thousands of pilgrims visiting Budhanilkantha Temple, which holds great significance as one of the most revered cultural and religious sites of Nepal.

This project is a reflection of India’s long-standing development partnership with Nepal and complements effort of Government of Nepal in post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal.

Vice President, in his remarks, appreciated the support by Government of India for post-earthquake reconstruction.

Government of India has committed to take up conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites across seven districts of Nepal. Beside these, under post-earthquake reconstruction grant, Government of India has supported reconstruction of 50000 private houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, reconstruction of 71 educational institutions across 8 districts and reconstruction of 132 health facilities across 10 districts of Nepal.