Himal Press 
Ambassador Bhattarai submitting nomination documents to UNESCO Heritage Center Director Eloundou Assomo in Paris.
LUMBINI: The government has officially submitted the final nomination document seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for Tilaurakot, the capital of the ancient Shakya kingdom.
Nepal’s ambassador to France, Sudhir Bhattarai, submitted the nomination documents to Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, in Paris on Wednesday.
Issuing a statement on Thursday, Sanuraja Shakya, the member secretary of Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), said the tireless efforts put forth by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, LDT, Department of Archaeology, and consultants from Durham University, are about to lead to fruition. “It is a matter of great happiness for all heritage lovers,” he said. “Since LDT has initiated efforts to secure UNESCO World Heritage status for Tilaurakot by 2025, we expect support and cooperation from all sectors.”
LDT began excavations in Tilaurakot to gather evidence to support its claims with the support of the UNESCO Japanese Fund In Trust in 2014. A team of archaeologists, led by Rabin Cunningham of Durham University, unearthed various artifacts confirming Tilaurakot as the capital of the ancient Shakya kingdom.
Lord Buddha is believed to have spent 29 years of his life in the Tilaurakot palace. UNESCO included Tilaurakot in the Tentative List of World Heritage sites in 1996.
