When it comes to heritage conservation, where do we draw the line?

The Lohani family’s house in Basantapur has three chaityas that potentially hold historical significance. Locals want them to be accessible to the public. But the Lohani family disagrees.

On a recent Saturday morning, when a group of people entered Dhana Nani Lohani’s backyard, with shovels in hand, she was taken aback. Lohani, who lives with her daughter, was scared at the sight of people entering her house without permission but she immediately confronted them. They told her they had come to dig out the three half-buried chaityas in her home’s compound, in Yathka, Basantapur, and that they wanted to clean and preserve it.