By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 25: Although businesses in the capital and throughout the country have started to reopen and air and road transportation have resumed, places of worship remain shut. This includes the temple of Pashupatinath in Kathmandu.
The temple’s doors were closed to devotees for the first time in known history when the lockdown was announced on March 24 and it has stayed closed since. As a result, the management has incurred a massive loss.
Pashupatinath is the wealthiest temple in the country and the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) used to earn tens of thousands of rupees daily. But due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent restrictions put in place to control it, PADT has seen its income plunge to zero. In the last six months, it has accrued a total loss of Rs. 300 million, informed Dr. Milan Kumar Thapa, treasurer of the Trust.
One of the main reasons behind such a huge loss is the fall in offerings and donations. With pilgrims unable to visit the temple, there have been almost no offerings made to Pashupati since March. On average, PADT used to collect Rs 100,000 to Rs. 250,000 daily from the offerings of devotees. In the last fiscal year, the Trust aimed to collect a total of Rs. 654 million but it managed to collect only Rs. 349 million before the lockdown.
The figures are no better on other fronts too. The Trust has earned Rs. 60 million from the special worship offerings made to Lord Shiva, which is only half of the targeted amount of Rs. 120 million, according to Dr. Thapa.
He further shared that PADT earned Rs. 14 million from Aryaghat services out of its target of Rs. 38 million. Likewise, it collected Rs 700,000 from the donation box against a target of Rs. 10 million. Moreover, the Trust earned Rs. 799,820 from parking fees but it had aimed to earn Rs. 4 million. PADT gained Rs. 49 million from interests on its deposits made from the collections from various other income sources against its target of Rs. 90 million.
Meanwhile, the Trust has collected Rs. 30 million from the rents of Guthi lands, Rs. 80 million from entrance fees levied on tourists and Rs. 3.5 million from the mourning shelters.
After nearly half a year of closure, Pashupatinath is now ready to reopen, as per Thapa. “We have sent a letter to the concerned agencies requesting to open the temple and are waiting for the government’s directions,” he said.
“If we are allowed to open, then the temple will open in the morning from 5 am to 8 am,” Thapa said.