NAY PYI TAW November 20
As 282-year Ohntonpin (Manawramma) Golden Monastery built in Beikmanma Village of Thanatpin Village-tract in Myaing Township of Pakokku District in Magway Region in 1100 Myanmar Era (1738 AD) needed renovation due to damaging in year after year, officials from North-West Command performed renovation tasks of the monastery in accord with the guidance of Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
In so doing, officials from the military command and those from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Pakhangyi) supplicated abbot of the monastery Bhaddanta Jatila on 22 September to renovate the building in original design. The abbot agreed it and gave advice for necessary renovation.
So, officials from the military command and local military construction engineering unit started renovation tasks on 6 October.
With regard to renovation tasks, they repaired damaged and decayed teak floor pieces with 1.5 inches thickness each and substituted them with new ones at the Golden Monastery, replaced the damaged and decayed beams and trusses, posts and floors with new ones, used new roofs in places of wooden roofs and red brown iron sheets, changed the decayed and damaged wooden walls, doors and windows with new ones, built shelves for keeping ancient utensils in the monastery, installed searchlights for better lighting, constructed a brick Myanmar handicraft ladder and rails in place of the temporary ladder of the monastery, painted the building with oil dregs and carried out general maintenance in original style.
All maintenance tasks were cent per cent complete on 5 November.
Manawramma Golden Monastery takes a position in Beikmanma Village, about one-mile right side to Pakokku-Myaing road in Myaing Township of Pakokku District in Magway Region. Original donors of the monastery resided in Seintkan (Sintkan) Village, close to Beikmanma Village. Manawramma (which means the monastery with mental pleasure) locally named Ohntonpin Monastery was built in the reign of King Maha Dhammarazadipati who was the last king in Nyaungyan Dynasty. Originally, the monastery was formed with 12 buildings and 17 sections from the east to the west and 13 sections from the south to the north. These sections were four elbows by four elbows each. At present, there remain six sections from the east to the west and five sections from the south to the north.
Gold was used in making ceilings, posts, post boxes and roof timber of the monastery, and gold pieces from some parts were stolen by unscrupulous persons. Works of gold painting, sculpture and woodoil lacquerware painting of Myanmar can be observed in the monastery.
A chamber called Chwayzayon for members of the Sangha with fever to induce perspiration was also formed in the monastery.
The monastery was renovated by officials of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Pakhangyi) in original works with more than Ks-37 million contribution of families of the Tatmadaw (Army, Navy and Air). As such, people can now observe the ancient Myanmar arts and crafts from the monastery.