KATHMANDU, NEPAL—According to a report in The Kathmandu Post, reconstruction of the earthquake-damaged Rani Pokhari, or Queen’s Pond, has begun. The square reservoir, with a causeway leading to the Balgopaleshwor temple in its center, was built in Kathmandu in the seventeenth century by King Pratap Malla for his wife after the death of their son. Sushil Gyawali of Nepal’s National Reconstruction Authority said the first phase of the project will focus on the reconstruction of the pond and its water-collection systems using soil, sand, brick, and other traditional building materials. The second phase will reconstruct the temple and its bridge. Conservationists objected to earlier plans to fix the monument with concrete. “It’s a matter of honor for us that the government has shown concern in preserving our heritage in its original form,” said activist Ganapati Lal Shrestha. To read about the excavation of a Buddhist shrine dating to the sixth century B.C. in Nepal, go to “Buddhism, in the Beginning.”
