By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : The Narayanhiti palace in the central area of the capital Kathmandu will be formally taken over on Sunday by the Nepali government, The Himalayan Times reported.
According to the daily, at a ceremony to which the heads of Nepal’s diplomatic missions, chiefs of the political parties, ministers have been invited, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who now holds deposed King Gyanendra’s position as head of the state, will formally hoist Nepal’s national flag at the palace.
Koirala will also host a tea reception on the occasion, Home Ministry spokesperson Mod Raj Dotel said Saturday.
It will be the first public function organized by the Nepali government after the declaration of republic.
The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly on May 28 had implemented republic and asked the ex-king to vacate the royal palace Narayanhiti within 15 days.
Former King Gyanendra Shah had left Narayanhiti and shifted to Nagarjuna palace on the outskirts of Kathmandu Wednesday.
The royal flag at the main palace building had been replaced by the national flag on May 29, a day after the Constituent Assembly declared the country a federal democratic republic.
The government plans to convert the Narayanhiti palace into a national museum.