Achyut Regmi 
KATHMANDU, Dec 26: If you are taking your vehicle to the Pashupatinath to pay obeisance to Lord Mahadev, STOP. You will have to park your car at Bankali lawns and then proceed towards the temple as the Pashupatinath temple periphery has been declared ‘No Entry’ zone for vehicles.

Entry of vehicles has been banned towards the northern portion of the Char Shivalaya (Bankali) for the convenience of the devotees visiting the Pashupatinath temple to pay homage. The Pashupatinath area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is archaeologically and culturally an important.

A joint meeting of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, the Pashupati Area Development Trust and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, had, on September 16, decided to ban vehicles in the Pashupati area and the decision has come into effect from today.

The area north of the Char Shivalaya, east of Jaya Bageshwari and south of the Dakshinamurti has been declared no-vehicles zone. The road from Dakshinamurti to Mitra Park has been declared one-way.

The Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) has made arrangements for parking the vehicles at Bankali ground. However, hearses, ambulances, fire trucks and emergency vehicles belonging to the security forces are exempt from this ban.

Sunil Baidya who lives at Gaushala of Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward Number 8 says that the vehicle ban in the area will cause inconvenience to the locals. “We live here and we have to use vehicle frequently. We will face difficulty with the imposition of the ban,” he said.

Ved Prasad Dulal, a priest who has been performing puja at a temple inside the Pashupatinath temple premises since long time, said it would be difficult to carry the various goods and paraphernalia required for performing the puja inside the temple complex with the ban on vehicles coming into effect. The Pashupatinath temple is 400 metres from the Bankali ground.

Member-Secretary of the PADT, Dr Pradip Dhakal, said that the vehicle ban has been enforced for easing the movement of the devotees visiting the Pashupatinath temple after consultations with the MTPD.

“It is the PADT’s objective that the nine million to 10 million domestic and foreign devotees who visit the Pashupatinath temple annually get to pay homage to Lord Pashupatinath smoothly and without any disturbance. We are declaring the area as ‘no entry’ zone for vehicles to that end,” he said.
The Trust’s member-secretary Dr Dhakal informed that those vehicle owners residing inside the designated area will also have a pass. “Efforts are on to make arrangements to take a dead body of human being for cremation through the Char Shiwalaya,” he said.

A total of 33 security personnel have been deployed for security under the measure (18 from the MTPD and the rest 15 from the Trust).

The MTPD’s Chief Sarbendra Khanal said the drive aims to create conducive environment for pilgrims visiting the temple for worship.