A team from the Department of Archaeology is set to inspect the Kamal Pokhari restoration project site on Wednesday, following widespread criticism from citizens’ group and heritage lovers who claim that the historic pond is being desecrated in the name of rehabilitation.

“We are going for an inspection visit of Kamal Pokhari to see the ongoing restoration works,” said Ram Bahadur Kunwar, spokesperson of the department.

“Since the pond holds a historic and cultural significance, there should not be any compromise in its reconstruction and conservation work.”

[Read: Conservationists are not so keen about Kamal Pokhari restoration project]

The centuries-old pond, which some believe dates back to the ancient Lichhavi era, is being restored and beautified by Kathmandu Metropolitan City. But heritage lovers and environmentalists have raised concern regarding the project.

The city’s design on the site boasts a lotus shaped fountain in the middle of the pond and smaller ponds in its four corners.The design also draws plans to build an outlet in the southwest of the pond. The project also hopes to have the pond filled with clean water throughout the year.

But hydrology experts say that the pond beautification project could cause ecological imbalance by constraining the groundwater recharging capacity.

Following concerns raised by citizens, heritage enthusiasts and environmentalists, the department on January 18 directed Kathmandu Metropolitan City to consider the cultural, historical and ecological aspects of Kamal Pokhari while carrying out the restoration and beautification works at the pond.

[Editorial: A tale of two ponds]

But on the same night an excavator was caught on film digging up soil from the pond to the anger of heritage lovers and conservationists.

The following day, heritage enthusiasts staged a demonstration outside the office of Kathmandu Metropolitan City and submitted a memorandum of their demands to Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi, as Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya was not present.

The city authority has been criticised for not conducting any detailed study of Kamal Pokhari and its adjoining areas to address its historicity and approaching the project only as a mere development work.

As per Ancient Monument Preservation Act 2013, structures over a hundred years old must be preserved in their original form. Heritage conservationists claim the city authority has disregarded the law in case of Kamal Pokhari.

Damodar Gautam, director general of the Department of Archaeology, said the controversies and protests surrounding the Kamal Pokhari restoration project have drawn the department’s attention.

“We had sent a letter expressing our concern to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City but that didn’t work. So we are sending our inspection team to the site,” said Damodar Gautam, director general at the department.

The campaign against redevelopment of Kamal Pokhari into a recreational space has also gained support from the civil society members, artists and writers. On Monday, they assembled at the historic pond as the starting point of their rally to protest the move of the KP Sharma-Oli government to dissolve the House of Representatives.

To raise the issue of Kamal Pokhari and show their support to the campaign, the rally participants had smeared the mud from the pond on their foreheads before marching towards Baluwatar.