New Delhi: Away from the media glare, Hindu organisations are putting up a massive effort to provide aid to Nepal earthquake victims and aid in reconstruction of the rich cultural heritage of Himalayan kingdom.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is at the forefront of this mission. As per a media report, the VHP has written to all major religious heads, temples and mutts in the country, urging them to adopt atleast one of the temples/heritage sites destroyed by the quake.
The VHP will also bring orphaned children from the country to India and provide for their education and upbringing at its numerous educational institutions spread across the country.
“The VHP will provide free boarding and education to Nepalese kids who have lost their parents in the earthquake. We will bring them to our 150 residential schools and 50 orphanages spread across the country,” VHP International working president Pravin Togadia said.
“Besides, the VHP will help the people of Nepal in rebuilding their houses so that they could start a new life after having endured so much of pain,” he said.
Togadia also appealed to corporate houses and common people to support the VHP in its endeavor.
Last Saturday's temblor ravaged a slice of Nepal's cultural and architectural heritage, destroying a host of brick-and-wood monuments, temples and stupas.
The casualties include the Kasthamandap temple that gave Kathmandu its name, the landmark Dharahara Tower that turned into a grave for over 200 visitors, and three of the seven monument zones that complete the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property.
These seven monument zones are the Durbar Squares (urban centres with palaces, temples and public spaces) of the three cities of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur; the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath; and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan.
Several temples, including Kasthamandap - an early 16th-century wooden monument - Panchtale Temple, Dasa Avtar Temple and Krishna Mandir have also been demolished in the earthquake; Kathmandu's nine-storey Basantapur Durbar has suffered extensive damage.
