Myanmar begins pagoda repair in Bagan after heavy rain
Heavy rain that resulted in hundreds of deaths and left thousands homeless in Mandalay and Magwe regions also damaged a number of ancient pagodas in Bagan, an official said.
Director general U Kyaw Oo Lwin said the Department of Archeology, National Museum and Library was restoring five pagodas and a section of the city walls that were damaged on October 20.
“We started renovation on the morning of October 21 when the rain slowed down. We will work on it as quickly as possible to restore the damage,” he said.
“We were in the middle of planning a long-term project to renovate pagodas managed by the department and some works for that had already started. But when the rain left some pagodas damaged, we made repairing them our top priority,” U Kyaw Oo Lwin said.
The Ministry of Culture began granting permission to renovate pagodas in Bagan following a devastating earthquake in 1975 that damaged many buildings in the ancient city.
According to ministry figures, Bagan has 3122 religious buildings, including pagodas, temples, monasteries and ordination halls, and two-thirds of them were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. However, work was constrained by a lack of funding so in 1996 the ministry invited the public to contribute to restoration work.
Author: Cherry Thein | Source: Myammar Times [Ocober 31, 2011]
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| A Buddha image at pagoda number 1955 in Bagan. The pagoda was damaged by heavy rain on October 20 [Credit: Kaung Htet] |
“We started renovation on the morning of October 21 when the rain slowed down. We will work on it as quickly as possible to restore the damage,” he said.
“We were in the middle of planning a long-term project to renovate pagodas managed by the department and some works for that had already started. But when the rain left some pagodas damaged, we made repairing them our top priority,” U Kyaw Oo Lwin said.
The Ministry of Culture began granting permission to renovate pagodas in Bagan following a devastating earthquake in 1975 that damaged many buildings in the ancient city.
According to ministry figures, Bagan has 3122 religious buildings, including pagodas, temples, monasteries and ordination halls, and two-thirds of them were damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. However, work was constrained by a lack of funding so in 1996 the ministry invited the public to contribute to restoration work.
Author: Cherry Thein | Source: Myammar Times [Ocober 31, 2011]
