330-kg pinnacle installed in Dharahara

The reconstructed 22-storey Dharahara has got its 330-kg pinnacle installed on Wednesday. The pinnacle installation work was undertaken in the morning ritually and in the presence of the concerned authorities including the CEO of the National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyawali.

The Nepali Army had blown trumpet while Mangaldhun was played and Swasti Bachan (recital of mantras for peace) was conducted during the pinnacle installation process. Made up of brass, the gold-plated pinnacle has also a mix-up of 95-kg gold.

The 22-storey rebuilt tower will be inaugurated on August 24, on the eve of the day when the 7.6-magnitude Gorkha Earthquake had rattled the country in 2015.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to inaugurate the rebuilt 72-meter tall tower that was first built by the first Prime Minister of Nepal Bhimsen Thapa in 1835 BS.

Heritage expert Rajuman Manandhar shared that CEO Gyawali had installed a Shivalinga in the 21st storey of the tower and had performed puja on the Shivalinga and the pinnacle.

Though Dharahara spans across 42 ropani of land in total will be inaugurated in few days, it will not be open for the public for some more time since other structures were under construction. Manandhar said that it may take until November for the Dharahara to be opened for the public.

The public ought to wait until coming November to climb the tower and savor a panoramic 360 degrees view of the Kathmandu Valley.

Dharahara originally had 18 storeys. It was reduced to 11 floors following the 1990 BS (1934 AD) major earthquake. The reconstruction of quake-ravaged Dharahara had hit a snag for the first three years after it was reduced to the rubbles. The reconstruction process gained momentum after PM Oli officially laid the foundation for the reconstruction of Dharahara on 27 December 2018.