The Nepal Weekly 
July 11, 2023
Atithi Griha) located at Budhanilkantha Municipality in Kathmandu district.
The Dharmashala was built with Government of India’s grant assistance of around NRs. 50 million. The project was taken up under the post-earthquake reconstruction grant in the cultural heritage sector in Nepal. The Dharmashala building, which was damaged during the 2015 earthquake, has now been reconstructed as per Department of Archaeology’s Basic Guidelines, according to a Indian Embassy press release.
The three and half storied Dharmashala will serve thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India visiting Budhanilkantha Temple, which holds great significance as one of the most revered cultural and religious sites of Nepal.
Our religious sites are not only places for worship but they also serve as platform for social dialogue and cultural exchange, remarked Vice President Yadav while inaugurating the building. The newly built dharamshala will provide accommodation to pilgrims visiting Budhanilkantha and also help promote Nepal’s religious tourism thereby accelerating Nepal’s economic development, he pointed out. He also appreciated the support extended by Government of India for post-earthquake reconstruction.
“Budhanilkantha is one of the important and sacred historical and religious sites of Nepal,” said Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Prasanna Srivastava in his remarks. “It is a matter of pride for government of India to be linked with this important religious site.”
The programme was attended by dignitaries including Swami Nigamananda, Mathadhis of the Budhanilkantha Temple, Members of Parliament, Gagan Kumar Thapa and Pradeep Paudel among others.
The dharamshala spreading over 10 anas of land in total consists of 36 rooms, according to Prakash Shrestha, Vic-president of the Narayanthan Budhanilkantha Temple Management Committee. “Our aim is to cater to the needs of pilgrims coming from India and we are also targeting promotion of domestic tourism in Budhanilkantha area,” he pointed out. The dharamshala provides food and accommodation to the international as well as domestic visitors free of cost, he added.
