KATHMANDU, JANUARY 10
On the eve of Prithivi Jayanti, a group of Nepali Army personnel representing five historic battalions arrived in Kathmandu from Gorkha today.
The group arrived at Basantapur-based army barracks from Gorkha on the fifth day of their departure from there. The army team had walked through Dhading's Bharyang Bhurung, to Nuwakot's Kakani and entered Kathmandu through Panchmane located in the north-western outskirts of the valley. It was the same route King Prithivi Narayan Shah had used during his unification campaign that began from 1743.
Brigadier General Krishna Prasad Bhandari, Directorate of Public Relations and Information, said participants of the torch campaign belonged to the same five battalions that were formed under Shah for the unification process that began after defeating the Malla rulers of Kathmandu valley.
The group will visit Shah's statue located outside Singha Durbar tomorrow where the official programme will be held. A separate programme will be held at Nepali Army headquarters tomorrow evening to mark Shah's birth anniversary.
The government has for the first time, after the country's transition to federalism, declared public holiday tomorrow on the occasion Prithivi Jayanti, which used to be marked as 'National Unity Day, earlier.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 11, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
