PM Oli, Modi jointly inaugurate 400-bed Dharmashala; MoU signed for Raxaul-Ktm railway line

Kathmandu / Aug 31: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have jointly inaugurated a 400-bed Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala in Kathmandu on Friday.

Nepal-Bharat Maitri Dharmashala at the Pashupati Temple Area Complex in Kathmandu has been constructed on 10,625 squares meters of land owned by PADT within the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Government of India and the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) under Indian grant assistance of about NPR 220 million, Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a press release.

The Dharmashala has three stories and is equipped with modern amenities for pilgrims visiting the Pashupatinath Temple area. The building has a total area of approximately 6,100 square meters, and consists of single, twin-bedded, four-bedded and ten-bedded rooms, a dining hall, kitchen, library, multi-purpose hall, water treatment plant, solar heater, and generator house.”

Construction of the project commenced in September 2016 and was handed over today by the Government of India to PADT, which will be responsible for managing the Dharmashala facility for pilgrims visiting the Pashupatinath Temple area.

The completion of Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharmashala is another milestone in strengthening cultural ties and people-to-people contacts between the two countries, said the Embassy.

PM Oli, Modi witness MOU signing on Raxaul-Kathmandu railway line

Nepal and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Preliminary Engineering-cum-Traffic Survey on Broad Gauge Line between Raxaul and Kathmandu on Friday.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi witnessed the signing of the MOU on survey of Raxaul-Kathmandu railway line during a bilateral meeting held at the margin of the fourth BIMSTEC Summit.

The MOU on survey of Broad Gauge Line between Nepal and India was signed by Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works Madhusudan Adhikari from Nepali side and Shri Manjiv Singh Puri from the Indian side.

On April 7, 2018, the two governments had issued a joint statement on expanding rail linkages, agreeing to construct a new electrified rail line, with India’s financial support, connecting the border city Raxaul in India to Kathmandu in Nepal. As a first step, it was agreed that the government of India, in consultation with the Government of Nepal, would carry out preparatory survey work within one year, and the two sides would finalize the implementation and funding modalities of the project based on the Detailed Project Report.

Consulting with the Government of Nepal, Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. will be conducting a preliminary engineering-cum-traffic survey of the new rail line.

The Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line is expected to expand connectivity by enhancing people-to-people linkages between the two countries and promoting economic growth and development, said Indian Embassy in a press release.