Kathmandu, July 16: The iconic Dharahara tower in Kathmandu will now remain open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM, including on public holidays, starting from Shrawan 1 (July 17). The Ministry of Urban Development decided to extend visiting hours and keep the site accessible on holidays following a growing public demand.

Until the end of Ashad, the tower’s visiting hours had been limited from 10 AM to 4:30 PM, and it remained closed on Saturdays and public holidays. Going forward, Dharahara will no longer shut on Wednesdays, as was previously practiced in lieu of Saturdays.

Officials believe longer visiting hours and access on holidays will boost visitor numbers. Many visitors had complained that limited hours restricted public access, prompting the government to reconsider operational policies.

According to the Central Project Implementation Unit (Buildings and Housing), which operates under the Ministry, the tower has collected over Rs 43.3 million in ticket revenue over the past seven months, with a total of 237,065 visitors having climbed the tower since its public reopening.

Dharahara has been operated as a paid facility under the Special Infrastructure Operation and Management Development Committee Formation Order 2081. Although initially free to the public when reopened on Constitution Day last year (Ashoj 3), the government introduced a Rs 200 entry fee starting from Mangsir 9.

The federal cabinet had already decided last Kartik that the central government would take full charge of operating and managing Dharahara. The cabinet also allowed for temporary lease arrangements with the private sector if necessary. Starting Shrawan 1, the ministry will deploy 13 staff in two shifts to ensure smooth operation.

Likewise, the Ministry has announced that the Damak View Tower in Jhapa will officially open to the public from Shrawan 1. Initially, the tower will operate on a trial basis from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Although the contractor handed over the project to the Urban Development and Building Construction Project Office Jhapa back in Poush 2080, the tower has remained unused for commercial purposes. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had inaugurated the structure on Mangsir 23, five years ago, but it failed to come into full operation.

Despite not being commercially active, the state has been spending over Rs 200,000 monthly for maintenance, utilities, and security. The Rs 2 billion tower stands about 6 kilometers west of Damak Bazaar, making commercial viability challenging due to its remote location. Spread over five bighas of land in Damak-3, the project was initially contracted on Ashar 27, 2076, with a budget of Rs 1.56 billion and a completion deadline of two years. Due to delays, the deadline was extended twice, with the final revised cost climbing to Rs 1.66 billion after an additional Rs 102.7 million was added.

People’s News Monitoring service