Inauguration of Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Sharma Oli today jointly inaugurated the 400-bed Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala at Kathmandu. Within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) for the construction of Nepal-Bharat Maitri Dharmashala at the Pashupati Temple Area Complex in Kathmandu, the project has been constructed on 10,625 square metres of land owned by PADT, under Indian grant assistance of about NPR 220 million (approx. INR 14 crore). The Dharmashala has three storeys and is equipped with modern amenities for pilgrims visiting the Pashupatinath Temple area. The building has a total floor area of approximately 6100 square metres, and consists of single, twin-bedded, four-bedded and ten-bedded rooms, a dining hall, kitchen, library, multi-purpose hall, water treatment plant, solar heater, and generator house. Construction of the project commenced in September 2016 and was handed over today by the Government of India to PADT, which will be responsible for managing the Dharmashala facility for pilgrims visiting the Pashupatinath Temple area. The completion of Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala is another milestone in strengthening cultural ties and people-to-people contacts between the two countries.