CMC Tansen mobilizes support for reconstructing history
23-03-2006 (Kathmandu)
Destruction of historical Tansen Durbar, District of Palpa, Nepal
© Anjan Ale
Nobody had foreseen the overnight destruction of the historical Tansen Durbar (Royal Palace) located in the district of Palpa in western Nepal. This magnificent seat of power built in 1927, a major tourist attraction, was recently burnt to ashes.
On the night of 31st January 2006, more than 4000 Maoists attacked the town from all four corners burning down the Durbar and destroying the Royal Nepal army barrack, district prison and dozen of other government offices. Under such grim state of affairs, the community multimedia centre (CMC) in Tansen videotaped the events of the night. Today, the same video is being used as a tool to appeal and mobilize support for the reconstruction of Tansen Durbar.
"I was working at community radio Madanpokhara about 12 kilometres away from Tansen when I first heard the guns shots. The gun fire started at 10:45 PM and continued for about seven hours till dawn. We all feared for our lives and could not sleep the whole night. When the firing stopped we could see the Tansen Durbar and other government buildings burning to the ground. There was smoke all over the sky and empty gun shells scattered on the road. It was horrifying to find blood stains and more than 30 dead bodies sprawled all over our town," says Rajesh Kumar Aryal, Coordinator of Community Radio Madanpokhara, Palpa.
The people in Tansen are still shocked about the unexpected disaster but hope to revive the Tansen Durbar to its original fame. In this context, the Tansen CMC with various other local organizations has appealed to local, national and international communities for the reconstruction of Tansen Durbar. “Within the last one and half months, we have distributed over 170 video CDs to various organizations, individuals and well wishers to support the reconstruction of Tansen Durbar. The same video footage is being telecast everyday on our local cable CMC channel to harness support from the local community," says Madan Deurali of Tansen CMC.
The CMC's specific objective is to fight poverty by empowering local youth, especially from poor and marginalized families, impart new media and ICT skills and provide opportunities for expression and initiative. The CMC promotes the use of local media and telecentre facility with equal emphasis on community involvement for social, cultural and economic development. The CMC in Tansen is a local initiative of Communication for Development Palpa (CDP) which has developed out of pre-existing cable TV systems. UNESCO has supported the installation of telecentre facilities and continues to facilitate specific video related innovations.
CMC combines community media (radio and television) by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services).
Story contributed by: Karma Tshering. Karma is the research coordinator and organiser for Nepal CMC Project. He can be reached at karmatshering@gmail.com
To view a digital story titled ‘Tansen burning’ created by Rajesh Aryal, Coordinator, Community Radio Madanpokhara click here.
"I was working at community radio Madanpokhara about 12 kilometres away from Tansen when I first heard the guns shots. The gun fire started at 10:45 PM and continued for about seven hours till dawn. We all feared for our lives and could not sleep the whole night. When the firing stopped we could see the Tansen Durbar and other government buildings burning to the ground. There was smoke all over the sky and empty gun shells scattered on the road. It was horrifying to find blood stains and more than 30 dead bodies sprawled all over our town," says Rajesh Kumar Aryal, Coordinator of Community Radio Madanpokhara, Palpa.
The people in Tansen are still shocked about the unexpected disaster but hope to revive the Tansen Durbar to its original fame. In this context, the Tansen CMC with various other local organizations has appealed to local, national and international communities for the reconstruction of Tansen Durbar. “Within the last one and half months, we have distributed over 170 video CDs to various organizations, individuals and well wishers to support the reconstruction of Tansen Durbar. The same video footage is being telecast everyday on our local cable CMC channel to harness support from the local community," says Madan Deurali of Tansen CMC.
The CMC's specific objective is to fight poverty by empowering local youth, especially from poor and marginalized families, impart new media and ICT skills and provide opportunities for expression and initiative. The CMC promotes the use of local media and telecentre facility with equal emphasis on community involvement for social, cultural and economic development. The CMC in Tansen is a local initiative of Communication for Development Palpa (CDP) which has developed out of pre-existing cable TV systems. UNESCO has supported the installation of telecentre facilities and continues to facilitate specific video related innovations.
CMC combines community media (radio and television) by local people in local languages with community telecentre facilities (computers with Internet and e-mail, phone, fax and photocopying services).
Story contributed by: Karma Tshering. Karma is the research coordinator and organiser for Nepal CMC Project. He can be reached at karmatshering@gmail.com
To view a digital story titled ‘Tansen burning’ created by Rajesh Aryal, Coordinator, Community Radio Madanpokhara click here.
Destruction of Durbar Square, Tansen, Headquarter of Palpa District after Maoist attack© Anjan Ale
Related themes/countries
· Nepal: News Archive 2006
· 2006
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- UNESCO
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- UNESCO New Delhi
- UNESCO Office in Kathmandu
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