Pashupati may get new steering body

KATHMANDU, JUL 30 - A victim of utter neglect, the temple of Pashupatinath, which according to experts is on the verge of collapse, is likely to have a different autonomous body to look into all temple stakes, including property, land, management and structure.

As of now, the responsibilities of the temple are divided among several institutions including Ministry of Culture (MoC), Guthi Sansthan and Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT).

Owing to the dilapidated state of the main sanctuary of Pashupatinath and surrounding temples, a committee formed to look into problems, has proposed the ministry form an independent body comprising experts and intellectuals to govern the holy shrine of Pashupatinath.

The committee—Shree Pashupati Adhyayan Byawasthapan Swatantra Adhikar Sampanna Samiti—was formed under the MoC as per a Supreme Court ruling last year.

In its preliminary report submitted to the ministry on July 21, the committee proposed to form a fully autonomous body that would be involved solely in Pashupatinath affairs.

“If the ministry passes the proposal to form a separate autonomous body as the panel has suggested, many fragmented issues including the gradual dilapidation of structures all over the temple premises will have some respite, said Panel Spokesperson Ram Prasad Dahal.

“Hundreds of temples and idols of several gods and goddesses dotted all over the Pashupatinath area are in a slow process of extermination,” said Dahal. “While some temples don’t have a priest to conduct regular pujas, a few others have their pinnacles and other artistries broken. While some are healthy to look at from the outside, the idol inside would have already been stolen away.”

According to another member of the panel and Sr Advocate Sri Hari Aryal, PADT or any other agency responsible for temple affairs has not been able to efficiently resolve issues concerning the temple. Aryal said the existence of a single body would eliminate the trend of “passing the buck” among institutions at present.

“PADT, which is said to be mainly responsible for Pashupati affairs, is crippled by politics. After the formation of a new body, PADT may still exist there, but will be, by default, defunct, in due course of time,” said Dahal.

One of the most crucial issues that the new body of intellectuals and experts would be overseeing is entry into the main shrine. “Entrance available for Hindus only into the main temple is another important factor we found contentious,” said Dahal. “However, we have not decided anything on this so far. Once the body gets formed, its intellectual council will look into the matters that are likely to stir controversies.”

MoC Secretary Mod Raj Dotel, meanwhile, said the ministry is preparing to immediately form an administrative wing to study the report in detail. “Another important public concern mentioned in the report is temple management,” he said. “Once the administrative wing completes its study, we will move forth with what is to be implemented and what is not.” @ e-kantipur