Before removing the earthquake-damaged structures of Taleju and the Seven-Story Palace and starting new construction, the reconstruction work was initiated on Wednesday by performing a 'forgiveness puja' of the land by stakeholders including Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Saubhagya Pradhan.
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The reconstruction of Nuwakot's historic Tulja Bhawani Temple (Taleju) and the seven-storey palace has officially begun on Wednesday.
Before starting the new construction of the Taleju and seven-storey palaces, the reconstruction work was started on Wednesday by performing a 'forgiveness puja' of the foundation by the stakeholders including the Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Saubhagya Pradhananga.
The structure of the Taleju temple, which was damaged by the Gorkha earthquake of 2015, has been completely removed and the foundation construction has begun, while up to the fifth floor of the seven floors of the palace has been removed. According to the technical study, additional structures will be removed gradually, informed the Director General of the Department of Archaeology, Pradhananga.
According to him, the 'Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage', which has taken responsibility for the construction as per the agreement signed with the Government of Nepal (Department of Archaeology), has started the construction of the foundation for the construction of the two structures in the first phase, informed the Director General of the Department, Pradhananga. The reconstruction work was started by the participation of the Mayor of Bidur Municipality, Rajan Shrestha, and the heads of various offices and stakeholders in the district.
The construction of the seven-story palace, including the palace, which was damaged by the earthquake ten years ago, has been delayed and the reconstruction, which has been in limbo since then, will now gain momentum, said Shrestha, the mayor of Bidur.
As per the demand of Chinese technicians for the reconstruction of the palace, Bidur Municipality has provided assistance in the construction of water, electricity supply, storage facilities, and access roads.
As per the agreement reached with the Chinese government in 2076 under the post-earthquake reconstruction assistance, it is mentioned that the Chinese government will construct eight structures of religious, cultural, and archaeological importance here that were damaged by the earthquake. For that, an agreement was reached for the Chinese company to complete the work within 45 months. However, since the stipulated time expired before the work began, the same period has been fixed in the new agreement. It has been agreed that the construction of Taleju Temple and the seven-story palace will be completed within one year in the first phase and the reconstruction of the remaining structures will be carried out in the second phase.
Accordingly, it is mentioned that the Garadghar, Ranga Mahal, Vishnu and Narayan temples, Lampati and Sheetalpati in the Bhairavi Devi temple premises will be constructed in the second phase.
It is said that the then King Prithvi Narayan Shah ordered the construction of the seven-storey palace after his victory over Nuwakot in 1801. He had conducted administrative work from the same palace until his victory over the Kathmandu Valley. The palace was converted into the 'Nuwakot Palace Museum' after the establishment of the Republic in Nepal and opened to the public.
The seven-storey palace, which includes the clothes, beds, bedding, war materials used by Prithvi Narayan Shah at that time, and statues of Prithvi Narayan Shah and two queens, has been proposed for the World Heritage List.
