The Maitighar Mandala was constructed after multi-storied buildings were bulldozed in Maitighar and replaced with the Mandala that boasts a stupa (mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics) and stone water spouts a week before the summit was held.

“This Mandala reminds us of the previous Saarc Summit and we plan to revamp it to its original state,” said KMC chief Dhana Bahadur Shrestha, adding that the structure of this historical monument had never been maintained for all these years.

While the metropolis had handed over the responsibility to carry out the renovation work at the Mandala to the ADB two years back, due to the lack of experienced workers to carry out the difficult tasks, the revamping project had been delayed. “We thought it was the right time to carry out the renovation work at the Mandala as the entire city is being beautified for Saarc,” said KMC official Rabin Man Shrestha. “Together with polishing the craftwork, we have plans to decorate the Mandala with greenery and flower pots.”  ADB has plans to invest around Rs 1.6 million to complete the renovation work under the public private partnership with the KMC.

The renovation work is set to be completed by the first week of November. “We felt that there is an utter need to take care of this monument, which has remained neglected for a long time,” said Tej Bahadur Budathoki, CEO at the ADB.