Concrete used in reconstruction of Ranipokhari to be removed within week

Kathmandu, June 22 : The concrete structures that were built in course of the reconstruction of the historic Rani Pokhari would be removed within a week.

Works on removing the concrete structures had started 10 days back and it would be completed in a week, according to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The KMC office said a call for tender would be made for reconstruction of Ranipokhari and the responsibility of reconstruction assigned to a construction company.

KMC engineer Ram Thapa said the Ranipokhari would be reconstructed in its original form what was before the April 25, 2015 earthquake.

The structures constructed using the cement and concrete are being removed after protest from all sides against the use of cement and concrete instead of the traditional indigenous construction materials.

Construction was underway at Ranipokhari since 18 months. The reconstruction were halted after the protests. Although KMC had stated that the reconstruction would be started from May 29, it has not yet begun.

The Ranipokhari, ancient lake in the heart of the capital, and the Balgopaleshwar Temple located in the middle of the lake, suffered damage due to the Gorkha earthquake that struck the country on April 25, 2015.

An experts’ team constituted on December 28 last year had recommended in its report that this historic structure should be reconstructed in the original architectural style using the traditional building materials.