Reconstruction of heritage structures of Bhaktapur started on Monday, exactly a year after they were damaged by the earthquake.

Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Ananda Prasad Pokharel and Nepal Workers and Peasants Party Chairman Narayan Man Bijukchhe jointly inaugurated the reconstruction amid a function in the district.

Foundation stones for two damaged heritage structures—Fasidewa (temple of Silu Mahadev) and the main entrance gate of Bhaktapur Durbar Square—were laid as part of the launch of the reconstruction programme jointly being carried out by the Department of Archaeology and Bhaktapur Municipality.

Fasidewa, which lies on the eastern part of the Pachpanna Jhyale Durbar (a palace with 55 windows), was completely destroyed by the April 25 earthquake last year. The main entrance of the durbar square was damaged by during aftershocks.

Mohan Krishna Shrestha, an engineer at DoA, said the DoA has allocated Rs 38.2 million for reconstructing Fasidewa temple and Rs 3.4 million for the reconstruction of the durbar square main.    

Minister Pokharel work to reconstruct damaged heritage structures will gather momentum soon. Bhaktapur is one of the 14 districts worst hit by the quakes. According to DoA, a total of 750 historical, cultural and religious monuments in 20 districts were damaged by last year’s quake and subsequent aftershocks. Of them, 133 were completely destroyed while 617 sustained varied degrees of damage.  

In Bhaktapur, 106 heritage structures were destroyed while 126 were partially damaged, according to the DoA. Within the municipality area, 66 heritage monuments were destroyed and 50 were partially damaged.