For the first time since the restoration of multi-party democracy 1990, the government has mobilized entire government machinery to welcome Their Majesties upon their return to Kathmandu on Friday upon completion of their three-week-long tour of some Asian and African countries.
Their Majesties King Gyanendra and Queen Komal (File photo)
Their Majesties King Gyanendra and Queen Komal (File photo)
Various government departments and corporations have been asked to erect `welcome arches’ along Tribhuvan International Airport- Maitighar- Singh Durbar section of the road to welcome Their Majesties, according to reports.
Reports said the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has sent a written order to all the ministries, departments and corporations to ensure that their staff line up on both sides of the Singhadurbar-Bhadrakali section of the road at 3:00 p. m. – at least one hour in advance of the royal return.
Chief Secretary Lok Man Singh Karki has been personally seeing the arrangements, according to reports.
The Secretary of Education and Sports has been assigned to arrange for the presence of school children, teachers, scouts and sportspersons along the road from Tribhvan International Airport to Baneswore. Similarly, the Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies has been asked to mobilise factory workers and industrialists to welcome Their Majesties.
This is the first time since the restoration of multi-party democracy in 1990 that the government employees have been mandatorily asked to be present during the return of the head of the state from an official visit abroad.
Kantipur daily quoted former Home Secretary, Srikanta Regmi, as saying that the government employees were not asked to be present mandatorily for royal visits even during the Panchayat days. “It is but obvious what type of tendency such activities point at,” he added.
Their Majesties had left for the Bangaldeshi capital of Dhaka on November 11 leading the Nepali delegation to the 13th SAARC summit.
This was the first time since the restoration of multi-party polity in 1990 that monarch led the Nepali delegation to SAARC.
From Dhaka, Their Majesties left for Tunis, the capital of Tunisia to take part in the World Society of Information Society. Tunisia is notorious the world over for cracking down on independent media. Even before the return to home of Their Majesties, the royal government raided the first community-run radio station in Lalitpur, closed down Radio Sagarmatha, seized radio equipment and detained journalists on allegations of trying to re-braodcast the interview with Maoist leader Prachanda conducted by the BBC Nepali Service.
The journalists were later released and the radio station has resumed its transmission following an interim order by the Supreme Court.
From Tunisia, Their Majesties visited South Africa, Tanzania, inspected Royal Nepalese Army personnel deployed under the UN peacekeeping mission before traveling to the Arab Republic of Egypt.
Their Majesties will be arriving Kathmandu this afternoon aboard the country’s national flag carrier from Cairo.
A major opposition party, CPN (UML), has said it will be organizing a huge rally and mass meeting at New Baneswore area this afternoon in protest of the royal takeover and calling for return of peace and democracy in the country.