KATHMANDU, Jan. 6: A meeting of the 281st Prithvi Jayanti and National Unification Day Celebration Committee held here today under the chairmanship of committee chairman and Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Kuber Prasad Sharma decided to celebrate the day with various programmes.

Accordingly, the Royal Nepal Army will offer a salute at the statue of His late Majesty Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great at Singha Durbar on January 11 at 11 a.m. Various distinguished persons will offer garlands and bouquets.

Radio Nepal will organise a discussion and other programmes, and festive illumination will be carried out at government buildings and various temples. Talk programmes on Prithvi Jayanti and national unification are also scheduled.

Likewise, Royal Nepal Academy will organise various programmes in Jhapa, Chitwan, Pokhara, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi and Kapilvastu while artistes from all the l4 zones will present folk dances under the auspices of the cultural undertaking. Exhortations of King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great will be publicised.

A symposium on “Perception and characteristics of Nepali folk dance” and a song-drama are scheduled to be staged on January 12.

The meeting also decided to publish the writings of Naya Raj Pant and Babu Ram Acharya on King Prithvi Narayan Shah and the latter’s exhortations in simple form in various languages in order to propagate them across the Kingdom.

Assistant Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ravi Bhakta Shrestha also attended the meeting.