A peace park has recently been built at an encroached land within the confines of a community forest at Simpani of Manhari Rural Municipality.
With the joint effort from the federal government, province government, local government and private sector, the park was envisioned three years ago.
Today, the once useless piece of land has come alive with beautiful landscaping, blooming flowers, small ponds and fountains.
Apart from being an ideal place for relaxation, meditation, picnics and walks, the park is also dotted with religious shrines and monuments.
“We are trying to incorporate more from our culture and religious history to further enliven this park,” claimed Ekraj Upreti, chairperson of the Manhari Rural Municipality.
According to Upreti, the park is being developed as a multi-religious, cultural and tourist site by adding the area of Risheshwar Mahadev Temple on the east and Tashi Choiling Gumba on the west.
Moreover, a well-serviced meditation centre has also come into operation at a hillock connected to the park complex.
The construction work began after reclaiming five hectares of land, which was supposedly encroached upon by the Simpani Devkot Joint Community Forest Users Group.
The construction and management of the Peace Park, which used to be under the leadership of Simpani Devkot Joint Community Forest users Group, has been taken over by Brahma Kumari Rajyog Service Centre, Makwanpur.
The park management team is ecstatic over the number of financial support pouring in from all across the country and abroad. “Especially, Nepalis living abroad pledged their support to this project since its inception,” added the Rural Municipality chairman.
“Thanks to such enthusiasm from locals and our Nepali friends from abroad, we have been able to transform this unproductive space into an attractive site,” he said.
Locals believe that the park has the potential to be one of the prominent tourist and cultural destinations in east Makwanpur. Already, tourists who visit Hetauda’s famous Martyrs’ Memorial have been also swarming to the park to enjoy its calm and pristine beauty.
Source : THE RISING NEPAL,
