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Photo: TRN Churiyamai Tunnel in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City, Makawanpur.

The responsibility for the conservation, operation and management of the historic Churiyamai Tunnel, regarded as the first tunnel in South Asia, has been formally handed over to the Churiyamai Temple and Tunnel Conservation and Management Committee.

Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City signed an agreement with the committee on Thursday, entrusting it with the protection and operation of the tunnel, which is located within the Churiyamai Temple premises in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City–15.

The agreement was signed by Mayor Meena Kumari Lama on behalf of the Sub-metropolitan city and Committee Chair Prem Bahadur Bhomjan.

Under the agreement, the committee will be responsible for the tunnel's regular inspection, conservation, cleanliness, maintenance, visitor management, and the operation of necessary infrastructure. It has also been authorised to collect the entrance fee fixed by the sub-metropolitan city from visitors touring the tunnel.

The agreement stipulates that all revenue collected must be spent solely on the tunnel's conservation, operation and management, and that no alterations may be made to its original structure.

The committee is also required to submit an annual progress report and financial statement to the sub-metropolitan city, which will oversee monitoring, coordination and necessary guidance.

The Bagmati Provincial government had earlier handed over the historic Churiyamai Tunnel to Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City after completing its restoration.

The 225-metre-long tunnel became redundant after a blacktopped road was constructed through a box cut in the Chure Hills. The tunnel measures 2.5 metres in width and three metres in height.

Construction of the tunnel began in 1917 AD under the directive of then Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher Rana and was supervised by Brigadier Colonel Dilli Jung Thapa, Nepal's first graduate engineer. The project took two years to complete.

Built using soil, bricks, lime and surki (traditional lime mortar), the tunnel was designed to connect the Raxaul–Amlekhgunj railway with the road leading to Bhimphedi. It remained in use for jeeps, lorries and other light vehicles until 1963–64 AD.

According to the sub-metropolitan city, the management responsibility has now been entrusted to the committee to ensure the tunnel's long-term preservation and promote it as a heritage tourism destination.

By Anil Parajuli