The ancient temple collapsed under the pressure of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake which shook half of Nepal on April 25.

Guthi Sansthan Lalitpur Chief Rudranath Adhikari said although the small and bigger Gajurs (pinnacles) of various Gods and Goddesses had been recovered along with the statue of God Bhimsen and jewelry pieces the Bhoto, which is the centre of attraction of the Rato Machindranath festival, is still missing.

Adhikari said it would take at least five to six days more to retrieve all the historic items buried under the rubble. The temple of Bhairavnath and Machindranath were razed to the ground by the destructive earthquake.

The 12 yearly festival of the Machindranath, which is being marked this year, started on April 19 after the placement of the Rato Machindranath deity's idol on a cone-shaped wooden chariot. The chariot procession which started from April 22 has remained on hold following the earthquake. It is not clear when the chariot procession will resume. RSS