Govt. declares public holiday on Friday

The government of Nepal has declared Friday a "public holiday" to celebrate the House of Representatives (HoR) proclamation that was adopted by the reinstated House on Thursday.

A notice issued by the Home Ministry said all the government offices, semi-government offices and Nepalese embassies and consulates abroad will remain closed on Friday. The Ministry said the decision had been taken to celebrate the HoR proclamation that declared itself as "sovereign."

The proclamation curtailed royal powers, changed the name of His Majesty's Government of Nepal (HMG/N) as Nepal government and Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) as Nepali Army.

Employees of various government agencies and semi-government agencies could be seen pasting computer print-out of "Nepal government" on the sign boards of their offices that earlier read: His Majesty's Government.

Reports say the HoR proclamation is likely to generate tens of millions of rupee job for printers and sign board painters across the country over the next few weeks. nepalnews.com by May 19 06