Couples Told to Stop Kissing in Kathmandu's Durbar Square

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Amorous couples told to cool it in square

From correspondents in Kathmandu

June 28, 2007

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21985480-

1702,00.html

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http://tinyurl.com/24wdqt

 

Couples should stop cuddling and kissing near a revered

square surrounded by palaces and temples in Nepal's capital

because it shows a lack of respect for religion, a committee

warned today.

IA:

" The environment around this ancient religious site has been

desecrated by these young Romeos and Juliets, " said Rajan

Maharjan, a supervisor from the Kathmandu Durbar Square

Conservation Program Committee.

 

Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site and popular

destination for thousands of foreign backpackers to spend

the day, has a series of Hindu and Buddhist shrines that date

back to the sixteenth century.

 

But the square, home to a young girl revered as a living

goddess and the seat of Nepal's kings until the 1960s, has

also become a popular spot for lovebirds to gather in the

evening.

 

" Lovers kissing and cuddling while sheltering in the temples

has become a common site, so we have posted notices

telling people to stop, " said Mr Maharjan, adding that little

notice has been paid to the signs.

 

" We put the notices up on Tuesday and the same day they

were ripped down, but we plan to take pictures of the

couples and publish them to try and make them stop, " he

said.

 

Nepal, where about 80 per cent of the 27 million population

are Hindu, is extremely socially conservative, and public

displays of affection between couples are viewed as

culturally unacceptable.