Quake robs Nepal’s architectural jewels

Beyond colossal loss of human lives, if there is anything perhaps equally overwhelming in Nepal’s earthquake tragedy, it is the monumental damage the country’s iconic heritage has suffered due to the calamity.

The powerful temblor measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale yesterday practically levelled the nation’s tangible cultural history, robbing it of its architectural jewels, including the landmark Dharhara Tower, in an eerie reminder of the 1934 quake that claimed over 10,000 lives. The 19th century nine-storey minaret, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which once offered a panoramic view of the Kathmandu Valley, turned into graveyards for over 200 people.

Over 2,000 people have been killed in the wake of the calamity while more than 5,000 are injured.

Built in 1832 by the then Prime Minister of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa, the tower was also extensively damaged in the 8.3- magnitude earthquake of 1934, worst in Nepal’s recorded history. It was later rebuilt and opened to the public, only to be reduced to a rubble this time. The architecture of the tower was designed in Mughal and European style. A small statue of Lord Shiva was placed on the top of the tower.