This is default featured slide 1 title

Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha Bandara - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.

This is default featured slide 2 title

Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha Bandara - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.

This is default featured slide 3 title

Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha Bandara - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.

This is default featured slide 4 title

Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha Bandara - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.

This is default featured slide 5 title

Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha Bandara - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Sages smeared in hues throng for Mahahivaratri

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 29

They emerge in all hues, appearances and semblance around Pashupatinath. Their rugged appearances, matted hair, and smeared body with ash resemble the perfect disciple of Lord Shiva. There will be droves of them at Pashupati during Mahashivaratri, the night of Lord Shiva on February 12, exhibiting strange and bizarre conduct and behaviour.

These people have renounced all the worldly pleasures and comforts and want to find solace by praying Lord Shiva and experience sartori in hemp and marijuana, and making wild merriment replicating the Dynossiac culture of medieval Greece. Drug addicts also throng the shrine to have intoxicated in on the very occasion.

Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), said the sages have started arriving, earlier than a week than previous years. “This year will be different from past years in every thing. Mysterious great sadhus like Chandra Swami will also be here”
They are treated as guests and housed and fed for free. Elaborate preparations are being made to cater to thousands of their tribe who will be visiting the Pashupatinath Temple for the festival, making the pilgrims feel homely and facilitate them whatever they need.

“Accommodations for the yogis and the beggars will be separately arranged,” said Bhola Prasad Sitaula, director of PADT.

Sadhus are welcome lots. But there will be beggars as uninvited guests. Hundreds of beggars have already arrived - some of them in unimaginably wretched state. They are found all over the Pashupati area with hopes for generosity from the devotees who come there.

Nahata said that the beggars always outnumber the Sadhus. “Still by treating them as pilgrims we will do whatever we can,” he said.

The sages and the beggars will be settled separately, and that will be managed by the PADT and other organisations from the private sectors. All the necessary security facilities will be provided to the visitors. For that, security posts and camps will be set up mobilising the police and the army to control possible mobs in the adjoining areas of Pashupatinath Temple.

Number of devotees is increasing every year. At least half a million pilgrims and other visitors are expected for Shivaratri this year – 25 per cent more than last year. It is estimated that the number of sages alone will exceed 5,000 this year coinciding with Kumbha Mela in Kavre, Hridwar and Kuruchhetra, said Raj Babu Pandey, chief of the Pashupati Guthi. More than 150 sages and yogis have already arrived from India. The Naga Babas (naked sages), one of the attractions of Shivaratri, will come soon.

The accommodation facilities will be provided free to all the sages and beggars during the celebration. When they leave, they are bid farewell with rudrakshya, clothes, sweet and cash ranging from Rs 350 to Rs. 1,100.

The Sadhus are provided with logs for bonfire during the cold February nights and marijuana as a 'prasad' of Lord Shiva while they remain here. “However, we are facing difficulty in getting logs. While we need some 60,000 logs, we have only 15,000 pieces,” Pandey said.

Twelve different subcommittees have been formed aiming to make the festival successful and different than the previous years.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Waste management in all municipals toothless

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 23

Almost all the municipalities, which are taken as better developed cities and towns, in the country are operated without any proper management of waste and landfill sites. The Local Self Governance Act has kept mum regarding the landfill site and proper management of garbage as a source of income.

According to the Ministry of Local Development, of 58 municipalities across the nation, only Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City and Tribhuvan Municipality (Ghorahi), Dang have been using landfill sites to dispose garbage.

Neither the central government nor the local ones initiated measures to resolve the garbage problem in the cities and towns, said Bidur Mainali, general secretary of the Municipal Association Nepal. "The government should formulate visionary and scientific policies to address the problem regarding the environment and people's health," he said.

Twenty-two towns were en masse declared municipals in 1997. Earlier, there were 36 municipals while other 41 new municipals are awaiting the government nod for approval.

Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson for the MoLD, said that there was no specific provision of garbage management in the existing laws. "Population, income, electricity and communication, and infrastructure development are mandatory elements to be a municipal," he told THT. "Without any other detail, the present law has provisioned only collection, transportation and dumping of the waste," he added.

"Garbage must be used as a source of income at the present context while managing waste," Thapaliya said. "The government should allocate funds to manage waste in the local bodies," he added. "The new amendment bill on Waste Management, which is shelved in the cabinet since early 2009, has included concept of proper waste management."

The stories of Biratnagar Sub-Metropolitan City, Birgung Sub-Metropolitan City and Dharan Municipality about waste management are pathetic. BSMC purchased a plot of land for landfill site in 2001 but the Armed Police Force has been using the land since 2004. BSMC has been dumping refuse on a public place in a sorry state.

Sixteen municipalities are using forest lands for disposing garbage, which has been critically objected, said Mainali. "Remaining municipals have been depositing refuse anywhere they like," he said. "Bhaktapur, Madhyapur Thimi and Kirtipur municipals in Kathmandu Valley are forced to throw waste on river banks and public places."

Dr Sumitra Amatya, General Manager of the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre, said they were inspecting the municipals of the country. "With the help from UN Habitat, we designed landfill sites for Ghorahi, Dhankuta, Janakpur, Baglung and Tansen but it is yet to be implemented except in Ghorahi and Dhankuta," she said. "US$ 365,000 has been allocated for 10 additional municipals for landfill site management."

Of the total fund, SWMRMC will bear 35 per cent, while UN Habitat 45 per cent and concerned municipality 20 per cent. "We are going to expand this project to 10 more municipals soon," she added.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Dilapidated temple of Manakamana being rebuilt

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 19


The widely famous temple of goddess Manakamana, which is on verge of collapse, is being utterly renovated. The centuries old temple will be dismantled and restructured preserving the originality based on historical and cultural values.

Located at Manakamana VDC in Gorkha district, the temple of Manakamana Bhagawati, a very popular Hindu pilgrimage of the country where some 7,000 devotees visit shrine daily, is believed to have the power to fulfill wishes. The temple has bent six inches down to south, shaken by quakes in 1934 and 1988.

Dr Minendra Rijal, Minister for Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, said the ministry had initiated the process of renovation from today. "The renovation of the temple will start within the current fiscal year as soon as possible," he said exclusively.
KATHMANDU: A meeting held between the representatives and officials from the MoFACAPAC and Manakamana Temple reached to a conclusion to form different committees for renovation of Manakamana Temple. They proposed an Advisory Board headed by Minister, a Steering Committee coordinated by secretary and a Working Committee led by MADC. "There will be four committees under the working committee namely Financial Management Committee, Technical Committee, Worshipping and Security Management Committee, and Public Relation Committee," secretary Mod Raj Dotel floated concept. Another round of discussion will be held at Manakamana in Gorkha on January 27. --
A delegation including priest of temple, chairman of the Manakamana Area Development Committee, CDO and local development officer from Gorkha district met today with Minister Rijal, who assured to carry out renovation project sooner. A team from Department of Archaeology and Guthi Corporation also joined the meeting.

Bishnu Raj Karki, Director General of DoA, presented a study report on the renovation, estimating a cost of about Rs 25 million. "The inner parts of temple walls are rotten, hollow and crumbled by mice. The renovation will take two fiscal years to complete," he said.

According to the ministry, funds will be managed by the government, MADC, donations from devotees and other resources.

Deenesh Joshi, chairman of MADC, said the government should enforce its order to make the donations offered from devotees transparent. "Upto Rs 30,000 is offered daily. However, the MADC receives no penny," he said.

Priest Insan Thapa Magar said that he had deposited Rs 2 million in the bank collected from donations and was ready to help maintain transparency. "I don't object transparency but I should be paid for livelihood of my family," he added. "I am also ready to collect funds to renovate the temple."

The legend of Manakamana dates back to the period of Gorkha king Ram Shah (1614-1636 AD). Story says: His queen possessed divine powers revealed only to her devotee and religious preceptor, Lakhan Thapa Magar. Once, the king chanced upon revelation of his queen as goddess and Lakhan as a lion. As soon as he told the queen what he saw, king died.

When the queen approached funeral pyre to commit sati as was the custom back then, she consoled lamenting Lakhan by saying she would reappear soon near his home. After six months, a farmer ploughing field hit stone, cleaved it and saw blood and milk flow forth. When the news spread, Lakhan knew that his wish came true. The flow ceased as Lakhan worshipped it using his tantric knowledge. Then ruling king of Gorkha donated land along with grant to perpetuate worship of Manakamana.

Present Thapa-Magar priest is the 17th generation descendant of Lakhan Thapa. The four-storey temple on a square pedestal has pagoda style roofs, and the entrance is marked by one stone, the sacrificial pillar.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Inventory of historical monuments to be collected

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 18

The Department of Archeology (DoA) is all set to collect the data of historical and archeological monuments, temples, monasteries and cultural sites of 72 among 75 districts first time in its history across the nation by the end of the current fiscal year.

Although the Culture Division (CD) was established 50 years ago to look into preservation, excavation and research of heritages in the country known as temples and diverse culture, the DoA is yet to enrich it with data of its historical monuments and assets. The CD was later incorporated with the ministries in line with culture.

"We are working to collect the data of historical monuments and sites throughout the nation," said Bishnu Raj Karki, Director General of DoA under the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture. "The data of the heritage in the 72 districts excluding three districts in the Kathmandu valley will be collected by mid-July this year," he told this daily.
KATHMANDU: The website--http://www.doa.gov.np/index/about.html-- of MoFACAPAC, which was named as the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation in 2000, is yet to be completely updated. The ministry got a new nomenclature--the Ministry of Culture and State Restructuring on August 31, 2008 just after the abolition of monarchy. It was restructured as MoFACAPAC in mid 2009. However, the website still contains the name of MoTCA and 'His Majesty'. The officials expressed ignorance over it. --
The classification of the historical monuments was started in the fiscal year 2007-2008. The classification of 39 districts was already completed in the last two consecutive fiscal years. Only 437 historical monuments, temples and sites in 39 districts of four zones in the country have been recognised through the classification, said Mohan Singh Lama, research officer, DoA.

 Lama said Rs 3.3 million has been allocated for the project. "The census will begin in about a month through the selected bidder," he added. "It will be categorised in three groups based on religious, cultural, historical, artistic and archeological aspects with focused importance on construction material, style, form and cultural value."

There are about 1,300 historical monuments including private buildings in the seven world heritage sites located in the Kathmandu Valley. The DoA authority claimed that they had already collected the data of monuments in the three districts of the valley.

However, the DoA could not furnish the total historical monuments in the three districts of the valley. "We are under process to collect the data," said Bharat Raj Rawat, Division Chief at the Monument Protection Zone, DoA. "The government has neglected this sector," he said.

Jala Krishna Shrestha, spokesperson for the MoFACAPAC, said that it was the responsibility of DoA to keep the up-to-date records. A total budget of some Rs 180 million has been allocated for the DoA in the current fiscal year.

No significant work has been performed in the department, according to Rawat. "The rampant culture of manipulation instead of dedication in performance of the government offices has resulted into poor outcomes," he added.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Ministry of Culture proposed to Planning Commission

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 13

A proposal to set up a separate Ministry of Culture has been proposed to the National Planning Commission to incorporate it within next three-year periodical Tenth Plan, which begins from mid-July.

A draft of the proposal was submitted to the NPC yesterday, said Jala Krishna Shrestha, spokesperson for the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture (MoFACAPAC). "A proposal has been submitted for a separate culture ministry for the effective outcome in the culture sector," he told this daily. "We can not say that how the NPC will respond to it," he added.

The government is giving a short shrift to culture, inarguably, the bedrock of the nation's identity. Though the world recognises and fetes Nepal for its fascinating and intriguing social mores, the powers-that-be back home seems to have no time for such 'trivial pursuits', said Shrestha.

According to MoFACAPAC, the proposal contains of long-term strategies in the preservation of culture and heritage, integration among various ethnic and indigenous communities as per the national needs.
KATHMANDU: A line ministry working team under newly Central Technical Committee of NPC is being formed in the MoFACAPAC to look into the cultural affairs. "The committee will include two secretaries, two joint-secretaries and two departmental heads," said Jala Krishna Shrestha, joint-secretary at the MoFACAPAC. "It will come into existence soon." --
It may be recalled that culture was incorporated with the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation in 2000. Earlier, it was a part of Ministry of Education as well as Social Welfare although the Culture Division was established in the country 50 years ago. The ministry got a new nomenclature--the Ministry of Culture and State Restructuring-- on August 31, 2008.

When the UML-led government assumed office on May 23, several new ministries like Federal, Constituent Assembly and Parliamentary Affairs and Culture were all clubbed together. Consequently, culture took a backseat, lost in the maze of sundry unrelated ministries looking into novel areas of governance, said Rishi Kesh Niroula, under-secretary at the MoFACAPAC. "It is an irony that the ministry is almost definct," he added.

The nation is home to around 100 ethnic and indigenous groups with their own unique culture. The constitution, however, recognises only 70 indigenous and ethnic communities. Besides, there are 10 World Heritage Sites, including seven in the Kathmandu Valley, as per the UNESCO list. Of these, eight are cultural sites and the rest showcase nature and wildlife.

There is also clearly an overlap of governance when it comes to culture. For instance, the Ministry of Local Development has been handling monastery management. The Ministry of Home Affairs looks into organising various festivals and Hajj Committee for Muslims. The Ministry of Land Reforms has an assigned role to play in running the Guthi (Trust). While, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works is engaged in construction of the shrines. The ministry of Finance is entrusted with Kaushi Tosha Khana, which loosely translates to funds collected from cultural bodies.

"It will be possible to work in conserving the culture, language and heritage of every creed and cast, if a separate culture ministry is set up in the nation," Shrestha concluded.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Guthi Corp in mess, its lands in grips of tenants

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 9

The Guthi Corporation (GC), culturally most valuable institution administering the religious shrines, world heritage sites and cultural activities, is quite unknown to the land belonging to it. Majority of its land is in grips of tenants across the country.

Among the 10 world heritage sites in the country, eight are cultural sites. They include Pashupatinath Temple, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Hanumandhoka Durbar Square, Changu Narayan Temple, Bouddhanath Stupa and Syambunath Stupa, which are operated under the trust.

According to the GC central office, there is no specific data on land related to it although the trust was recognised through the Guthi Corporation Act 1964 despite its operation since ancient period of Nepal. There are about 2,100 state trusts (Guthis) in 68 districts among 75 districts across the nation. 

“There is no specific data and records of Guthi land yet,” said Saroj Thapalia, deputy administrator at the GC. “We have recorded about 1.4 million ropanies of land in total throughout the nation,” he told this daily. “We are still collecting the status of its land,” he added.

Deepak Bahadur Pandey, deputy administrator at the GC, said that the land belonging to the trusts was widely misused. “Majority of land has been personalised and misused, which is against the spirit of the trust,” he said.

The law of the country allowed people to transfer the Guthi land to its tenants, said legal officer Hem Raj Subedi. “The GC Act 1976 provisioned to transfer the trust land to the ownership of the tenants. It became worse when the GC Act 1984 widely permitted to do so,” he said.

There are four kinds of Guthi land, which totals to 561,991 ropanies in hills and 66,330 bighas land in Tarai as per the available present data in 68 districts of the country. Of them, Guthi owns only 243,608 ropanies in hills and 2,196 bighas of land in Tarai, according to the GC.

Remaining amount of the area has been transferred to the tenants, Thapalia said. “However, we are ignorant of the fact that how much land Guthi owned in the past,” he said.

Subedi said that the process of transfer was restricted by the Apex Court in 2008, terming it as ‘virus’ against Guthi. “Since then, the misuse has been checked,” he said. “The GC was defamed because of the land transfer, which should not have been dealt by the trust itself,” he added. “The responsibility should have been given to the Land Revenue Office.”

Friday, January 8, 2010

Pashupatinath Heritage encroached by street vendors

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 8

Despite attempts to remove unauthorised mess of traders, more than 200 sellers and shopkeepers have been illegally setting up huts in the vicinity of Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT), enlisted in the World Heritage Site. However, the PADT has failed to evict them or make them settle in the area allocated by the PADT.

The shopkeepers were making money for years by trading goods such as belts, clothes and other items even unrelated materials to worshipping rites and rituals in the Pashupatinath Temple.

"We've been selling goods, chains, decorative ornaments and garlands for more than five years," said a local shopkeeper on the temple premises. "We have not taken permission from the PADT to operate shop here," she said, requesting anonymity. "Neither have we paid any charge to any trade committee although a trade committee has been mobilising the shop owners here," she said.

She admitted that she was operating shop illegally at the site. However, she claimed that she was forced to sell goods for their livelihood. "The PADT issued notice calling us to leave the area. But we are not ready until the alternative management is settled for us," she said. She earns upto Rs 2,000 daily.

Ram Bahadur Karki, another shopkeeper among dozens of cloth sellers, admitted that he was running his business without permission from authority. "I am registered with a trade committee here by paying Rs 200 about four years ago. However, I have paid nothing to anybody till now," he said. "I've lived on this profession here," said Karki, who hails from Jhapa District. "I came and built my hut myself," he added.

According to the PADT, 30 stalls were made for the displaced people in course of land management in the area and flower sellers. However, the stalls are yet to be utilized. The PADT had issued notices with a deadline for evacuating the land many times. The last deadline expired two months ago.

"Those places were misused in grips of powerful ones. We are deprived of the rights to use stall though I was selected for the quota," the anonymous lady said. "The authority cheated us and cancelled my name," she added.

It was completely illegal settlement inside the world heritage site, said Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the PADT. "There are about 300 shopkeepers running their business illegally. We've not allowed any trade committee to run business here," he said, adding that only 30 stalls were made for the genuine displaced ones.

"It's not their property to stick to the illegal business here," said Nahata. "One day they might claim that the Pashupati Temple belongs to them," he said. "If they're not ready to leave the place, we'll be obliged to use legal way," he warned.

"The given time has already passed and we can evict them any time," said Nahata. "When we informed them frequently, they said they would leave the area but still hanging around the restricted zone," said Nahata.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Renovation of historical Pashupati Temple on card

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 7

A plan to widen the courtyard of the Pashupatinath Temple, famous shrine of Hindus enlisted in world heritage site, is afoot to renovation after 42 years.

"The premises will be expanded being based on the classical and archeological values," said Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT). "An 11-member renovation committee, which will complete its study within two months, has been just formed," Nahata told this daily.

Nahata said that the temples adjoining to the premises were deteriorated and wall of Mukti Mandap was badly cracked. "Except southern part, the premises on other sides will be expanded," he said. "The woods on the temples are rotten and damaged by mice," he added. "The roof of main temple is also leaking."

Pashupatinath Temple's existence dates back to 400 AD. According to Gopalraj Vamsavali, the temple was built by Lichchhivi king Supus Padeva, as inscribed in the stone inscription erected by Jayadeva on the premises of Pashupatinath in 753 AD. The temple was reconstructed by a medieval king Shivadeva (1099-1126 AD). 
KATHMANDU: The Pashupati Area Development Trust has come up with a new rule effective from January 15 to restrict all the vehicles, shop owners and visitors without permission in the area. "Locals will be issued with five-year pass, shops with one-year, and renting tenants with one-year renewable permission," said Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of PADT. "Parking area has been fixed at Tilganga, Bal Ganesh and Char Shivalaya. The breaching lots will be strictly fined," he added. --
As described in history, this temple was attacked and badly destroyed by Sultan Samsuddin of Bengal in mid 14th Century.  It was only after ten years, in 1360 AD, the temple was reconstructed by Javasimha Ramvardhana.  Renovation work hereafter was taken up by Jyoti Malla in 1416 AD.

The present architectural nature of Pashupatinath temple came into existence as a result of renovation by queen Gangadevi during the reign of Shivasimha Malla (1578-1620 AD). The temple was renovated in 1969 after it had been infested with termites.

According to the PADT, the Pashupati Temple Renovation Sub-Committee includes engineer Shankar Nath Rimal, Prof Biddhya Nath Bhatta, Prof Mukunda Raj Aryal, main priest MahaBaleshwor, Hari Sharan Rajbhandari, Bharat Acharya from Nepal Army, regular devotee Suvas Shanghai, representatives from Department of Archeology and Guthi Corporation each, and Prem Hari Dhungana.


Dhungana said that the preservation planning would be formulated after studying on damaged physical condition of temples. "The classical study is inevitable to preserve the heritage," he said. "Permission from UNESCO is a must to carry out the project."

"The any entry gate of Pashupati premises should not be direct to the main doors of Pashupati Temple. However, the western entry gate was built by then king Mahendra in 1960 stands against the classical value," said Dhungana. "It should be changed," he added.

Narrottam Baidya, treasurer at the PADT, said that there was a need of wide discussion on the issue and to be decided as per the advice and recommendations from all sectors.
Nahata said that the renovation of the temple would begin in the next fiscal. "We need a huge amount for the purpose. We are in search of donors too," he said. "We have already started painting of all the temples inside the PADT area."

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Messed-up rich govt trust with 5 computers in Nepal

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 6

The offices of the Guthi Corporation (GC), culturally most valuable institution administering the religious shrines and cultural activities, are equipped with only five computers across the country. Despite its initiation in 2002, a plan to set up Guthi Management Information System has been still paralysed after the government failed to allocate budget in time.

According to the GC central office, the proposal was tendered consecutively to the National Planning Commission in 2003 to establish GSIM and Guthi Records Building with a proposed estimated budget of Rs 8.5 million.

"There is no specific data and records of Guthis and its entities belonging to number of trusts, temples, assets, cultural monuments and other amenities due to the lack of data keeping records and appropriate building," said Saroj Thapalia, deputy administrator at the GC. "Everything is messed here in the absence of a proper system," he told this daily.

The plan was included in the NPC, which was extended as three-year tenth plan after the end of five-year tenth plan in 2006, only in the fiscal year 2006/07. However, no budget was allocated for the purpose then.

"The Ministry of Finance approved a budget of Rs 1.5 million in the last fiscal year only," said Thapalia. "The amount has been issued in the current fiscal year," he added. "We are preparing to invest this amount to develop basic amenities and infrastructure."

The GC under the Ministry of Land Reforms owns only five computers presently in 10 branches including one in Birgunj of the corporation located in seven districts. Of them, five offices are situated in the Kathmandu Valley. There are about 2,100 state trusts (Guthis) in 68 districts among 75 districts across the nation.

Earlier, there were only two computers in the central office while one computer was added last year. "One is being added this year," said Thapaliya.

The GC is not furnished with any data nor its website is enriched with important information. The government has owed the GC Rs 1.25 billion, according to the GC, which has deposited Rs 1.5 billion in the bank. "Neither the government returns our fund nor it proceeds its work as per the plan," said Thapalia.

Thapalia said that there was only six months remaining to end the first tenure of the plan. "It needs additional three and half years to complete the project," he worried.

There are about 1.5 million ropanies of land under some 2,100 Guthis throughout the nation. "It has been completely a scare-crow organisation," said legal officer Hem Raj Subedi. "The responsibility of the GC is to work on preserving culture, festivals and trusts. However, it is confined to land administration against its objective," he said, adding that maintaining its inventory has become a mirage.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Ticket to let snakelike line alone in Pashupati

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, January 4

If you are a Hindu and worried of paying homage to Lord Shiva during the special festivals at the Pashupatinath Temple, be happy and you will get rid of river-like rows from this Mahashivaratri.

The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has conceived a plan to levy Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 from a devotee around the world to pay homage to Lord Shiva effective from the Mahashivaratri, which falls on February 12 this year.

“We are planning to charge a fee for the interested devotees willing to worship Lord Shiva on the very special occasions,” said Sushil Nahata, member-secretary of the PADT. “We have formed a special sub-committee on homage service today to finalise the structure of fees for the devotees,” Nahata said.

According to the PADT, it has today formed an 11-member main committee for work execution and 12 sub-committees including, security, fooding and lodging, health service to manage the efficient services during the Mahashivaratri festival. “The committees comprises of CDO of Kathmandu, representatives from security forces and social organisations,” said Nahata. “Security will be uptight round the clock.”

Hundreds of thousands devotees throng the Pashupatinath Temple on the occasion and people are forced to return home without paying homage to the temple due to the tiresome crowd and endless lines of devotees. “They will entertain the special management of separate gate and line for those paying and general devotees this year,” said Sunil Kumar Banshal, member of the PADT. “The pass system, which was misused in the past, is being scrapped this time,” he said.

The paying devotees should come in the given time and fixed rows. “They will be issued tickets of permission after paying the fees,” said Nahata. “However, everything is yet to be finalised. We will publicise the details organising a press conference,” he added.

Narottam Baidya, treasurer of the PADT, said that it was thinking of establishing the PADT as an international religious centre to attract some 2 billion Hindus around the world. “It will help earn billions of rupees from religious and non-religious tourists,” he said. “The earning will be utilised in education and social services.

They were working to overhaul the management maintaining transparency in the PADT by enforcing new regulation, which is being prepared now, said Baidya. “This regulation will also encompass and specify the charges to be taken from the devotees for quick homage,” he said.

Indian great shrines also have offered facility to the devotees to pay homage by paying charges in the over-crowded temples such as Tirupati, Jagannathpuri and Vaishno Devi. “Each of the devotees is charged of IRs 25 to IRs 5,000 there,” said Nahata.

Bidur Paudel, Vice-Chancellor of Nepal Sanskrit University, said that it should be managed as per the need of time. “There used to be no crowd 2000 years ago, but population has multiplied by millions now,” said Paudel. “Ordinary people should not be charged any cost while it can be charged from those who can afford,” he said.

Dr Minendra Rijal, Minister for Federal Affairs, Constituent Assembly, Parliamentary Affairs and Culture, said that the government would provide special security services and other management during the Mahashivaratri festival