Kathmandu, Feb. 17 -- The illegal mining of sand and soil in the eastern and northern parts of Vishwarup Temple, near the Sleshmantak forest, is proving to be a great threat to the area and to its status of being a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Illegally extracted sand was being used to build concrete walls for the reconstruction of the earthquake-damaged Vishwarup Temple. But after widespread criticism from conservationists, activists, and locals, the Pashupati Area Development Trust, who has undertaken the responsibility of reconstructing the temple, removed the concrete fills on February 12. However, sacks of illegally mined sands can still be seen in the premises of the Vishwarup Temple.

"When I requested them to not use the sand from...