Kathmandu, November 13
Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is planning to launch a more systematic campaign to identify and repatriate Nepali religious and cultural artefacts stolen and taken to museums and other locations abroad.
The campaign will prioritise documentation of heritage objects, public awareness and capacity development at the community level.
Speaking at a programme organised at the metropolis office on Friday, Acting Mayor Sunita Dangol said efforts to bring stolen religious and cultural artefacts back to their original locations needed to be made more institutionalised and effective.
She said the metropolis had previously worked through diplomatic channels and in collaboration with organisations and communities abroad to recover stolen artefacts. Such efforts would now be made more formal and systematic.
Dangol stressed that heritage conservation involved not only protecting existing monuments and artefacts but also preventing theft and illegal trafficking. She said identifying the original locations of Nepali artefacts found in foreign museums remained challenging due to a lack of documentation.
The metropolis will therefore focus on maintaining detailed records, including photographs, audio-visual materials and other relevant information. Dangol cited the successful return and reinstatement of a Mahagauri idol, which was identified through an old photograph, as an example of the importance of documentation.
She also emphasised the need to file formal police complaints whenever religious artefacts go missing, noting that a lack of such records had complicated previous recovery efforts.
The awareness campaign will begin with elected representatives and municipal employees before expanding to community organisations, guthis and residents. The metropolis also plans to train field-level employees in proper heritage conservation techniques.
