Rebuilt Dharahara inaugurated
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurate the under construction Dharahara on Saturday amid a gathering as if Nepal were free from virus.
The Prime Minister hurried to inaugurate the tower fearing that his government could collapse at any moment. So, works only on the outer part of the tower were completed for its inauguration.
It is said that the Dharahara will be ready for the public only in January next year as only 56 per cent of work on the Dharahara project has completed.
The structure, also known as the Bhimsen Tower and the Maharani Dharahara in honour of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa and Queen Tripura Sundari respectively, collapsed in the earthquake of April 25, 2015. The fall of the structure claimed the lives of 60 people who were atop the tower or happened to be in the vicinity when the earth shook violently.
Oli remembered these individuals and informed that a member of the family of the deceased would receive employment in the Dharahara complex. “If the nature of work here does not match with their expertise then we will arrange employment for them elsewhere,” he said. Similarly, he honoured Ramila Shrestha of Balkhu who had survived the collapse of the then ninestorey tower.
Calling Dharahara an icon of Kathmandu and Nepal, Prime Minister Oli inaugurated the rebuilt 22 storied building in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel, other ministers in his cabinet, members of parliament, mayors of Kathmandu and Lalitpur metropolitan cities, heads of security agencies, lawmakers, and other officials by unveiling an inscription and showering flowers from the balcony located on the 20th storey. PM Oli said that the Dharahara, which had been damaged once by lightning and twice by massive earthquakes in the past, would not be damaged again. “We have used modern technology to make it strong and safe while still maintaining a traditional, quintessentially Nepali, look,” he said, labelling the style “A reflection of history integrated with modernity.”
“We have truly built back better and Dharahara, which has the sentiments and pride of the citizens attached with it, will never fall again,” he stated. Recalling how the campaign ‘I will build my Dharahara’ began, the Prime Minister expressed that the campaign had allowed people to take ownership of the heritage. Dharahara took 31 months to reconstruct and has two elevators and a traditional staircase with 380 steps. When complete, the entire complex will cover an area of 42 Ropanis and comprise of a coin museum, an earthquake museum, a triple basement underground parking, mini-exhibition theatre, park and musical fountains. The project is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 3.48 billion. The new tower is 83 metres high.