KATHMANDU, April 6: Natural History Museum (NHM), which is a part of the Tribhuvan University (TU), has been confined to a very congested building as the university has failed to honor its pledge of providing the museum with land for building construction
The TU had promised to provide 60 ropanis of land to the museum at the premises of the university in Kirtipur.
The museum, situated in Swayambhu area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was set up in 1975 and housed in the current building for a temporary period.
However, the TU has not shown any interest in relocating the museum to the university premises, said Dr Ramesh Shrestha, chief of the NHM. "We submitted designs and plans for the building, but the TU has chosen to look the other way," he added.
The museum, the nation's only museum of the natural history, houses 55,700 specimens, including an elephant fossil dating backing to about 3-1 million years.
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Shrestha informed that the current site could not be expanded because of its proximity to the Swayambhu Temple, the world heritage site.
Although the TU assured them to provide a land, but not a single official document has been forwarded for the purpose so far, said Shrestha. "Some international organizations are willing to help us in building the museum. But how can I ask them to help if we don't have a place or official documents to assure them?"
According to the NHM, the museum consists of animals, plants, biodiversity, fossils, herbarium seeds, beekeeping and many more. "It is so congested that every sample is placed in a single room," said Prof Dharma Raj Dangol, botanist of the museum.
The museum started beekeeping recently to help professionals study the subject closely.
Sometimes, hundreds of students, researchers and foreigners come to visit the museum at the same time.
"How can we manage such a huge crowd in limited space," added Dangol.
Dr Tirtha Raj Khaniya, Vice Chancellor of TU, admitted that the TU was responsible for the delay in developing the museum.
"We are holding discussions to provide land to the museum. We will soon relocate the museum at Kirtipur," he claimed.
Shrestha said that they were tired of requesting funds for giving the museum a much needed facelift. The TU provided us with a fund of Rs 1.8 million after 18 years," he added.
