Historic Bimkot Durbar handed to local-level

Achham . Historic Bimkot Durbar (palace) based in Mellekh rural municipality in Achham has been handed to the local government.

Janak Bahadur Shah, the former ruler of Bimkot, handed the ownership of the palace to the local government amidst a programme on Wednesday. The palace spreads in an area measuring 6.5 ropani (one ropani is equivalent to 5476 sq ft) of land. Rural municipality Chair Jwalasingh Saud took the ownership.

With this, the responsibility of preserving and promoting the historic heritage comes with the local level. The palace is situated along the jungle area and there is no human settlement nearby it. The temple of Shodshadevi lies on the above of the temple surrounded by the Bimkotigadh and Chote River by two sides.

The temple that was established in the 16th century had come into existence in 1997 BS. A stone inscription written on Farsi language was retrieved from the temple and it has been placed on the premises of the Shodasadevi Temple. According to Shah, the old Bimkot Palace was flattened by the 1990 BS major earthquake. His grandfather Nagendra Bahadur Shah built the existing structure and it took 13 years to complete it.

The offspring of the rulers of Bimkot were residing in the palace until the beginning of the armed conflict. Historic documents, and other objects in the palace were burnt down during the conflict. The palace suggests the dire need of renovation.