makwanpur gadhi in need of renovation

Nepalese warriors have been known for their bravery and their courageous feat, and Makwanpur Gadhi is one of those places from where the Nepalese army fearlessly stopped foreign invasion and prevented them from reaching the capital. This was where the Gurkha army first fought against a foreign force to save the entire unified Nepal; it was from this war that the Gurkha army transformed into the national army.

History reveals that Makwanpur was home to King Prithivi Narayan Shah’s in-laws and only after his father-in-law’s demise he annexed it and sent his brother in-law Digbaden Sen into exile. Sen, later tried to regain it by joining hands with Mir Kasim during the war. The battle of 1763 against Mir Kasim’s men was the first victorious feat against India and the British Alliance.

This historic setting in the Makwanpur district is located just 12 km north east of Hetuada on the Kanti highway and lies at an altitude of 1,035 meters above sea level. It is situated in a very strategic offensive battle position from where enemies can be easily spotted and attacked. In fact, it is believed that Nepal won the battle in which 1700 soldiers of Mir Kasim’s men died and the Nepalese army captured 500 rifles, two canons and other military artillery, because of its tactical location on top of a hill.

Despite its glorious past, this celebrated site does not look as mighty as it was supposed to be--there are gaps in its walls, the entire structure looks like it is slowly decaying with time and it is losing its charm. Its rich stone architecture, which is symbol of our civilization, looks fragile and if it goes like this then one day this glorious fort will only remain in the pages of history. Though late, the locals realized its importance and established a Gadhi Tourism Board but ironically, it collapsed, as it could not function properly.

After the collapse of the board a development committee was born and today the Gadhi Development Committee and Hem Karna Ban Upabhokta Samiti (women) are supposedly working for the development and promotion of the historic site. The fort has gone ignored one more time due to a clash between the two organisations.

Chandra Bahadur Magar, the vice-president of the fort development committee, wants the government to promote this historic site so that tourism would boom there and help them earn their living. "We did receive budgets for its renovation, about three times--Rs.500, 000 twice and Rs.200, 000 once, but little was done with the money and most of the cash went into the pockets of our so-called leaders. We want to develop our village but till now nothing fruitful has been done and our efforts too have gone in vain," said Magar.

Caretaker of the citadel, Palden Dorje Tamang, too complained of the misuse of budgets. "I do not know how many times the budget has been passed for the development of the fort but some of it’s parts has been renovated and paved steps are built to reach the fort, however, the entire citadel has never been refurbished."

During its renovation, modern building materials replaced olden day materials which ruined its archeological values. Corrugated roofs have replaced the old wooden and brick roofs and a channel gate replaced the majestic entrance gate. So, the fort, which once guarded the nation against outside forces, is now void of its contents.

"When I was appointed as a post leader of the army here, there was nothing. The cannons were shifted to Suparitar in 2033 BS and were later shifted to some other places. The fort was in a neglected state when I came here. It has only been a few years that some of its portions have been renovated," said Raghu Nath Thapa, a local resident and an ex-army official.

"The fort was in a very bad shape as it was not even taken care of by the villagers and we initiated the renovation works to preserve this historic heritage, which would also help in promoting tourism activities in the village. We maintained the wall and placed a zinc plate roof over a hut inside the fort," said Ram Krishna Thapa, programme officer at the district development office, Hetauda. He said that they had passed a budget of two hundred thousand rupees for its renovation this fiscal year.

He also informed that while they were renovating the fort, the department of Archaeology asked them not to mess around with artifacts there because they were of historical importance. Then they stopped their work.

The locals’ desire to promote this historical site at a national level seemed to have been heard only a few months back when Tara Gaon Development Board (TGDB) under the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation did a research on the prospects of tourism in the region, according the chairman of the board Nimananda Rijal.

"Including this fort we have chosen thirteen other unexplored destinations to promote home stay tourism so that the income from the tourism industry would reach the grassroots. Sites like this have gone ignored for years and if we do not act responsibly in preserving such sites, there will be nothing left to pass on to the next generation."

"Our main priority is making every village a tourist destination and since nearly every rural region in Nepal has its own uniqueness-- if promoted and marketed well then external and internal tourism can be promoted. We have seen examples like Ghale Gaon and Sirubari that are attracting tourists because of their panoramic beauty and Makwanpur Gadhi can lure visitors if we market its victorious past," he said. Rijal, also stated that the study reports have already been complied and finalised and they would soon start working on the development and promotion of the destination as per the study.

"We will start working with the community there and provide them with training on language, food and hygienic cooking, hospitality, sanitation, developing cottage industries and help produce well trained human resource there before actually starting the promotional activities. This way tourism there will be sustainable and since it is being managed by the local community they will directly benefit from the project and because they own it they will work together to sustain and manage it," he said.

Along with the fort’s historic past, there lies a folk-lore, which says that during the mythological era lord Krishna would create havoc here by stealing butter for fun. The locals one day caught him and tied him up where the fort is located today. The statue of Bansagopal is believed to be far older than the fort itself and is only temple where one can see Lord Krishna tied to the walls.

Devotees from neighbouring regions come to the fort every Krishna Janma Asthhami to offer worship in the temple.

Thakur Prasad Devkota, the member secretary of TGDB, informed that by promoting the fortress—income generation activities will foster. "Not only this, but there are other places of historical importance around the Gadhi area like Sano Gadhi, Dhunge Gadhi, Junge Durbar and Ratomate Gadhi, which would also come into limelight after the fort is promoted."

He added that tourists should know a little about its history before actually visiting the place and stressed on rigorous advertisement campaigns. "If we can promote our country for its natural beauty then why can’t we prioritise these historical places as tourist destinations to develop our villages."