Indian embassy, INTACH to rebuild 11 heritage sites damaged in Nepal quake

The Indian embassy here has inked an agreement with a New Delhi-based non-profit charitable organisation to rebuild 11 cultural heritage sites damaged in devastating earthquakes in and around the Kathmandu Valley.

The agreement was signed by Ajay Kumar, deputy chief of mission embassy of India in Kathmandu on behalf of the government of India, and C T Mishra, Member Secretary Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).

Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri and senior officials from the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) of Nepal were present at the signing in ceremony.

INTACH will provide design and project management consultancy services for reconstruction of 11 cultural heritage sites in four districts - Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Solukhumbhu - that were damaged during earthquakes in 2015, a statement said.

It will work with the Department of Archeology of Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to reconstruct/conserve cultural heritage sites as per the government of Nepal's guidelines, it said.

INTACH is one of the world's largest heritage organisations with over 190 chapters across India. It was awarded with a special consultative status for United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2007.

In April 2015, a devastating earthquake of 7.8 magnitude rocked Nepal, killing nearly 9,000 people and wounding nearly 22,000.