Kathmandu, June 14:

A two-day-long national exhibition of traditional masks began here today. Various kinds of masks, used by different communities across the country and weighing from 200 gms to 25 kg were on display.

Nepal Heritage Association, Madhyapur Art Council and Chitrakar Society and 17 other organisations from outside the valley participated in the exhibition.

Inaugurating the exhibition, Prithvi Subba Gurung, the minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA), stressed the need to introduce a separate policy and set up a separate ministry for protecting the cultural heritage of the country.

“We need a cultural policy to preserve art and culture. The ministry would work towards formulating such a policy in the next fiscal year,” said Gurung. Since art and culture contribute a lot in the tourism sector, a separate ministry for the preservation and promotion of the same is needed, he added.