Nepal, Dec. 9 -- It is worrying that UNESCO, the United Nations body that deals with heritage conservation, has been forced to withdraw from the project to restore the Jagannath and Gopinath temples in Basantapur. The organisation had been consulting with local conservation experts and coordinating with the Department of Archaeology to restore the temples. It had even assured the community of hiring local artisans and workers for the actual reconstruction. However, it seems that 'some local groups', and Province 3 assembly member Rajesh Shakya in particular, put pressure on UNESCO to withdraw.

The arguments behind pushing for UNESCO's ouster do not make any sense. Apparently, Shakya wants the temples, which fall under his electoral const...