Coinciding with Duechhen Nga Dzom, His Majesty The King graced the Sertog (golden pinnacle) installation ceremony of the Uste or the Main Tower of Wangdue Phodrang Dzong yesterday.
The Sertog installation coincided with Lord Buddha’s Parinirvana.
With the installation of the Sertog, the Utse is now almost complete. The Utse will serve as the Goenkhang.
More than half of the dzong reconstruction work has been completed so far. Remaining works include construction of administrative blocks, which is expected to take almost a year.
The construction of Dukhang and Darsha will begin soon.
The Zopoen of the Wangdue Phodrang Reconstruction Project, Dorji, said if things go as planned; the dzong will be restored to its former glory in 2021.
The project is actually due for completion this December, but the deadline has been pushed to 2021 due to change in the structural design.
The dzong, which was built 400 years ago, was destroyed by a fire in June 2012. The works to rebuild the important national monument began soon after upon the command of His Majesty The King.
The new structure, funded with a grant from His Majesty, the public and an offering from the government of India, is being built combining the original aesthetics of the structure with disaster-resilient technology.
His Majesty granted Nu 200 m and the Indian government committed Nu 1bn for the dzong reconstruction project.
Wagudue Phodrang dzong was first built by Zhendrung Ngwang Nmagyel in the 17th century, and rebuilt twice in the 19th century after suffering damages from a fire first and an earthquake later.
