Lowest bidders threaten Nepal`s quake-hit heritage
(Artdaily.org)

Caretaker Deepak Shrestha padlocked shut the quake-ravaged remains of the Trailokya Mohan Narayan temple in Nepal`s capital Kathmandu to keep out the contractors who are meant to be rebuilding it. The 17th century monument`s three-tiered pagoda completely collapsed in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Himalayan nation in April 2015, leaving the main statue standing exposed on a high plinth. Shrestha, whose family has looked after the Hindu temple for generations, is now on a mission to protect it from a government system that grants contracts to rebuild the quake-damaged heritage sites to the lowest bidder. `We had our doubts about the contractors but it was confirmed when they started digging the foundations haphazardly, disregarding the community`s involvement and our sacred rituals,` Shrestha, 56, told AFP. `We don`t believe the cheapest contractors will rebuild our temple sincerely. We demand that the government dismiss such a system.`