Mero Mind: Govt call to take effect in 2 months

Govt call to take effect in 2 months

THE government decision to unlock two major treasure houses on the Hanumandhoka Palace premises is most likely to be implemented by the end of Nepali month of Baisakh [mid May], said officials at the Department of Archaeology (DoA). According to DoA Director General Ves Narayan Dahal, a lot of issues need to be resolved before implementing the government decision. “We need to first keep an inventory on the exact locations of the treasuries and a detailed report has to be prepared after conducting a thorough study,” he said. The long-cherished plan to unlock the treasure houses saw the light of day when a Cabinet meeting last month took a decision to this effect. Acting on the Cabinet directives, the Ministry of Culture formed a 23-member committee under the leadership of Dahal. The panel comprises of representatives from all local and government stakeholders, including the Finance Ministry, Culture Ministry, Hanumandhoka Palace Museum Development Committee and the Guthi Sansthan.The first meeting of the committee was held on Thursday. According to Dahal, the meeting agreed to prepare an internal code of conduct to be followed by the members while conducting studies and approaching other processes. For instance, the code has it that a member a member, while conducting a study, cannot take a bag of any size into the room of the palace where the treasures have been locked. “The code of conduct will be ready in a couple of days,” he said. “We are working in full swing. Hopefully we reach a conclusion at the earliest.” Given the dilapidated condition of the treasure houses, the DoA had sought permission from the Culture Ministry to unlock the treasures in February 2012. The place is currently guarded by the Nepal Army. The armymen deployed there have a “shoot at sight” order for anyone seen trying to approach the treasure houses. The treasure houses, which date back to the reign of king Prithvi Narayan Shah, were used to deposit wealth for emergencies. According to museum officials, the houses were built by the king to store wealth seized from the then king of Kathmandu Jaya Prakash Malla after the latter’s defeat. The two houses were used as the royal treasury until the Shah kings shifted to the Narayanhiti Palace.

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