The completion deadline for the Rs 3.4 billion project is two years. On the occasion, PM Oli directed reconstruction of the tower aesthetically similar to the old tower from modern materials using latest earthquake-resilient technology.
The 11-storey new tower covering an area of 22 ropani will be approximately 294 feet tall with two elevators. The ruined base of the original Dharahara will be preserved as a memorial to those killed in the earthquake. Plastering the second floor is underway, while reconstructions under the tower have been completed. Over 150 workers, Nepalis and Indian, have been working on the project.
Heritage expert Raju Man Manandhar, who works for the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), claimed that the project will be completed by the deadline. To complete the project on time, 50 percent of the reconstruction should be over in the next two months, and reconstructions have been accelerated accordingly, claimed the NRA.
The new senior citizen and children-friendly tower will have various facilities like a park, a museum, a water fountain, an exhibition hall, shops, restaurants, a library and a parking lot. The 18-storey tower was built by the first prime minister of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa in 1825. The tower was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1934 and was later reconstructed. RSS
