Ghantaghar :History About The Clock Tower Nepal

old Ghantaghar Nepal

Ghantaghar  A sundial made to match the hands of a clock tower is now in a state of disrepair. Ghantaghar is on the south side of the clock tower on the Trichandra College campus. A clock was used to determine the time based on the sun on the needle. Rana Prime Minister Bir shamsher built the clock tower in 1875. And, it started – after the clock of that house tingled twelve times at 12 o’clock, the army fired a cannon at Tundikhel to signal 12 o’clock. At that time, the practice of firing cannons at the sound of the clock of historical and archeological importance, which became the only synonym of the time indicator, continued till 052 BS.

Ganesh Sapkota, who has been responsible of the clock for 32 years, has not allowed the tingling clock to prevent . After 5 years of his retirement, it’s difficult to seek out another skilled manpower who can keep this watch a float. For an extended time, Kathmanduites managed their time consistent with the clock.

With the arrival of technology, the necessity for a tower didn’t become necessary. Even now, hardly anyone pays attention to the clock. nobody looks at the clock hand. I even have a smartphone in my hand, i do not need to search for hours to understand the time.Few people have an interest in whether this is often the proper time or not.Ghantaghar

The tower , once a prestigious building, is dilapidated thanks to lack of care and protection. nobody has paid attention to the cleanliness, maintenance and renovation of the building. Sapkota said that the tower of historical significance has become useless as no body has taken responsibility for it.

Neither the Kathmandu Metropolitan City nor the Department of Archeology has paid attention to the preservation of the tower . He says there’s no problem with the clock and technical side. He claims that he has kept his watch tight albeit he has problems together with his iron teeth from time to time. he’s worried about who will run the clock after his tenure. He said that he has been using the closed clock alone since 2044 BS. “,  Ghantaghar

He says he’s worried about getting to the clock museum after his tenure. there’s even a solar punch in the tower .  it’s also been delivered to Nepal in that time ,” he said. But the people that saw it weren’t found even then. i do not even know. ‘

The clock tower used by the third Rana Prime Minister Bir Shamsher was repaired after it broke down from time to time and the then Prime Minister Chandra Shamsher had asked him to put a foreign sundial there to indicate the exact time after the repair.The copper needle of the historic sundial is missing and the watch has been crushed with a stone. The clock not only showed the time in Nepal, but also the time between Kathmandu and Calcutta, Greenwich and Montreal, and the time that changes every month.Ghantaghar

Retired Joint Secretary to the Government of Nepal, Prakash Raj Pandey, recalled that while studying at Trichandra College, he used to know the time by looking at the sundial. Not everyone had a watch on his hand at that time,  We looked at the clock to see if the clock was on time. Exactly. ”

The old natives of Kathmandu also call the sundial a sundial, a sundial or a shadow. In 1911, Chandra Shamsher had a sundial built near the clock tower.It is written on the marble that ‘Maharaj Major General Chandra Shamsher Jabra’ has ordered to keep a sundial. In the past, time could be seen on the sundial from sunrise to sunset, but now due to the mosque and the police building across the road, the sun cannot reach the sundial all day long.

He claimed that there were Ghantaghar at Nasal Chowk of Hanumandhoka Durbar and Taleju Chowk of Bhaktapur Durbar. Swayambhu also has a sundial.

After the fire of 2038 BS in the Ghantaghar , the clock could not give time. After the second SAARC conference was held in Kathmandu in 2044 BS, the technical search was started due to the need to repair the watch. Sapkota, who had been working as a technician at the Trichanda Campus at that time, could not find skilled manpower at that time.

He said that the campus has started paying for the maintenance as it is located in the Trichandra campus. As the clock tower is located in the campus, its maintenance will be the responsibility of the campus, said Ram Bahadur Kunwar, spokesperson of the department.  The Department of Heritage under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has also said that the clock tower is in charge of archeology.Ghantaghar

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