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| Kathmandu, Monday August 11, 2003 Shrawan 26, 2060. |
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Fire extinguishers
It is very saddening to know that the Pratappur temple on the
Swoyambhunath premises has been destroyed by fire as well as fire extinguisher brigade. We
do not understand why the fire brigade does not have any specialized team for
extinguishing fire in areas of historical importance. We are very disheartened by the way
the powerful jets of water crumbled the important monument. We still do not understand why
carbon dioxide gas was not very gently injected into the temple by closing all inlets of
atmospheric oxygen gas. It is also rumored that a decision has been arrived to demolish
the Pratappur temple completely and construct a fake new structure. We know that the total
responsibility lies with the Department of Archaeology. But we also think that the UNESCO
experts still could have played a role.
Hopefully, our sadness will be fully understood. We also hope
that UNESCO would investigate independently into the cause of the fire. Since UNESCO has
been involved in the preservation of seven World Heritage Sites within the Kathmandu
Valley, we would like to suggest that UNESCO allocate fund for monument- specific fire
extinguishers to avert a greater damage.
Pasang Goparma & Ravi Manandhar
Kathmandu
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