Dharahara Tower of Nepal collapsed after earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Nepal

Dharahara Tower of Nepal: Collapsed
19th century Dharahara (Bhimsen) tower at the center of Sundhara in Kathmandu, Nepal on 25 April 2015 was reduced to rubbles after an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on the Richter scale struck the country.

The nine-storey, 61.88-meter-tall (203-feet) tower was a part of the architecture of Kathmandu recognised by UNESCO. It was built in 1832 by Mukhtiyar (equivalent to Prime Minister) Bhimsen Thapa under the commission of Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari.

The architecture of Dharahara was designed in Mughal and European style and resembled an Islamic minaret. The statue of Hindu deity Shiva was placed on the top of the tower.

It was the tallest building in Nepal with a 5.2 metres (17 ft) bronze mast on the roof and had a spiral staircase containing 213 steps.

Dharahara tower was constructed for military use as a watchtower, and in cases of incidents of national importance, bugles were blown from the top floor of the tower.

The bugles acted as the signal for the soldiers to assemble. The tradition of bugle trumpeting continued until the collapse of the tower.

It was the second such tower built by Bhimsen Thapa. The first tower was built eight years earlier in 1824 and was 11 stories high, two stories taller than the

Dharahara. It was reduced to rubbles on 15 January 1934, when an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck Nepal.

Besides, other historical and UNESCO World Heritage sites of Nepal which collapsed due to the earthquake were hilltop Monkey Temple of Swayambhunath, the oldest

Buddhist stupa in the Kathmandu valley, Basantapur Durbar square, Kasthamandap temple, Patan Durbar Square, gilded statue of King Bhupatindra Malla and others.