Several Nepalese World Heritage sites previously closed due to earthquake damage were reopened on Monday, the result of nearly two months of work stabilizing structures and removing rubble.
But some United Nations officials expressed concerns that some buildings—damaged during the April earthquake that killed more than 8,700 people—were still too unsteady, the New York Times reports.
Nepal’s tourism secretary, Suresh Man Shrestha, nonethess told the Times “The treasures of the Nepalese economy should not remain closed forever.”
More than 700 monuments in Kathmandu and its environs were damaged in the quake, and the cost of rebuilding is estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Some of the most notable reopened monuments include the plazas and courts of Kathmandu’s Durbar Square, as well as the central squares of both the ancient city of Bhaktapur (the entirety of which is a UNESCO site) and Patan, a traditional center for handicrafts.
Christian Manhart, the head of UNESCO Kathmandu told the Times that his organization had encouraged authorities to delay the reopening because of concerns that some buildings were still unsafe or vulnerable to looting.
“At Kathmandu Durbar Square there is the huge palace museum—one very big building which is totally shaky,” he said. “The walls are disconnected from one another so this big wall can fall down at any moment.”
In response, Nepal’s Tourism Department said that museum would not reopen and that other safety measures, such as providing helmets to visitors, would mediate these concerns.
But Manhart said that even allowing tourists in proximity to unstable buildings could pose a risk. He also told the Times that Archaeology Department director general Bhesh Narayan Dahal implied to him that he was under pressure to reopen damaged monuments in order to collect entrance fees to support reconstruction efforts.
Witness the Aftermath of Nepal's Devastating Earthquake
A Nepalese boy stands amid earthquake damage in the ancient city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015, three days after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake had hit the country. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Nepalese man carries recovered belongings through the streets of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu Valley, April. 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEPeople stand on top of a damaged building in Durbar Square in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The historic Durbar Square, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake.Adam Ferguson for TIMEA group of Hindu Nepalese women mourn the loss of four family members who were killed in the earthquake at the site of funeral pyres on the river of Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA crowd watches Indian forces excavating collapsed apartments, looking for bodies and survivors in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. The building, a UNESCO world heritage site, was severely damaged in the earthquake. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese people flee buildings during an aftershock in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEIndian and Nepalese forces attempt to identify a body after it was recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Hindu Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces excavate the Dharahara tower in Kathmandu, April. 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese forces clear fallen bamboo from ruins in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, April 26, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese children walk through the street in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEWorkers repair power lines in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEIndian and Nepalese forces excavate a body from collapsed apartments in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese people retrieve belongings from damaged homes in Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMENepalese women mourn relatives lost in the earthquake in Bhaktapur, in the Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEPeople walk through the damaged streets in the ancient city of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu Valley, April 29, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA displaced Nepalese family takes shelter in a tent in a Kathmandu park, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA mother looks at her son who was injured in the earthquake, at the Nepal and India Trauma Center in Kathmandu, April 29, 2015.Adam Ferguson for TIMEEmergency rescue workers clear debris and search for survivors in Katmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA body recovered from a collapsed restaurant in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA Nepalese man tends to a funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 28, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIMEA funeral pyre built for a person killed in the earthquake, on the river in Kathmandu, April 27, 2015. Adam Ferguson for TIME