The reconstruction and conservation work on Nepal’s famous 10th century-old  Seto Machhindranath Temple began on Sunday with Indian grants. The temple was among several culturally important sites that suffered significant damages in the 2015 devastating earthquake in Nepal.  

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu released a statement, saying a Bhoomi Pooja was performed to launch the Seto Machhindranath Temple restoration work. Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and some Nepali officers were present there during the ceremony.

The temple - revered by both Hindus and Buddhists - is the first among the 28 cultural sites of which India had decided to fund the reconstruction and conservation works. The Indian government has allocated $530,000 for the restoration works of all these sites.

The embassy has hired the Indian National Trust of Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for the restoration work of the temple.

“All the 28 sites were identified by the Government of Nepal and both India and Nepal signed an MoU in this regard in August 2017,” read the statement.

The temple will be restored using goods close to the original building materials as per the traditional ethos, local traditions, and values that sustain and enrich such heritage sites in Nepal, the embassy stated.

The Seto Machhindranath Temple will be conserved as per Nepal’s Ancient Monument Preservation Act, and the Department of Archaeology’s Basic Guidelines and Manual for conservation and reconstruction of heritage sites affected by the 2015 earthquake, it was stated