Quake-hit Budhanilkantha Dharmashala rebuilt with India's assistance inaugurated in Kathmandu

Nepal's Vice President Ram Sahay Prasad Yadav on Wednesday inaugurated the Budhanilkantha Dharmashala rebuilt with India's grant assistance of around Nepalese Rs 5 crore.

The Dharmashala, located at Budhanilkantha Municipality, 10 km north of Kathmandu, was damaged during the devastating 2015 earthquake.

It has now been reconstructed as per the Department of Archaeology's Basic Guidelines, according to an Indian Embassy press release.

''This project is a reflection of India's long-standing development partnership with #Nepal and complements (the) effort of Government of Nepal in post-earthquake reconstruction in the country,'' the Indian embassy here tweeted.

The project was taken up under the post-earthquake reconstruction grant in the cultural heritage sector in Nepal and rebuilt with the Government of India's grant assistance of around Nepalese Rs 5 crore.

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

''Our religious sites are not only places for worship, but they also serve as platforms for social dialogue and cultural exchange,'' said the vice president.

''The newly built Dharamshala will provide accommodation to pilgrims visiting Budhanilkantha and also help promote Nepal's religious tourism, thereby accelerating Nepal's economic development,'' he said.

Yadav also appreciated the Government of India's support for post-earthquake reconstruction.

The Indian government has committed to take up the conservation of 28 cultural heritage sites across seven districts of Nepal.

Besides these, under a post-earthquake reconstruction grant, the Indian government has supported the reconstruction of 50,000 private houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, the reconstruction of 71 educational institutions across eight districts and the that of 132 health facilities across ten districts of Nepal, according to Indian Embassy sources.

''Budhanilkantha is one of the important and sacred historical and religious sites of Nepal,'' said Deputy Chief of Mission Prasanna Srivastava.

''It is a matter of pride for the government of India to be linked with this important religious site,'' Srivastava said.

The programme was attended by dignitaries, including Swami Nigamananda, Mathadhis of the Budhanilkantha Temple, Members of Parliament, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Pradeep Paudel among others. In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000 others. It also damaged over 800,000 houses and school buildings.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)