A temple helping spread light of education

By Rajendra Pokhrel

Supa Deurali Temple of Arghakhanchi district, one of the important religious destinations of the country, is the means for the educational development in the region.

Devotees' offerings in the temple have been an immense economic support to run two schools here. The temple, located in the border of Sitapur and Khanchikot VDC along Gorusinghe -Sandhikharka road section leading to district headquarters, Sandhikharka, has been providing support to two schools lacking the economic resources, according to secretary of the Temple Conservation Committee, Yadav Raj Ghimire.

According to him, Adarsha Secondary School of Khanchikot and Shanti Lower Secondary School of Sitapur are running with 75 percent investment of the temple's total income. It is used for the construction of the buildings and teachers' remunerations.

Local people have requested the government to develop this area as a religious hub of the region.

"If the government takes initiation to develop the temple as a religious tourism destination, it will be able to support even for the development of the district", says local Mukunda Bhattarai.

Significant numbers of people from neighboring districts Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Dang, Pyuthan and capital city Kathmandu visit the temple every year. The temple's annual income is up to Rs. 1.2 million to Rs 1.5 million, of which only 25 percent is allocated to manage the operational expenses of the temple while the remaining amount is used for the cause of spreading light of education, says Ghimire.

Recently, two buildings of Adharsha Secondary School and Shanti Lower Secondary School were constructed with an investment of Rs. one million and Rs. 350,000 respectively. The amount collected from the devotee's offerings is also used for the small scale development activities such as construction of electricity line, drinking water and road expansion in the VDCs.

The income of temple has increased after a donation box was installed near the temple, said Baburam Rayamajhi of Balkot. nepalnews.com