Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, March 8:

As the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) celebrated Maha Shivaratri and the Army Day today, the institution is observed to have turned into a professional force with a changed role to play.

“The RNA currently has a double role to play because political forces could not become as active as they should have been in resolving the Maoist insurgency,” said Dr Karna Bahadur Thapa, a military expert. He said the Army should always be backed by the society “because it is the ultimate institution to be mobilised in crisis”. “We have the best bomb disposal equipment like Wheel Barrows. As a result no untoward incidents are taking place these days,” said the RNA spokesperson, Brigadier General Dipak Kumar Gurung. The RNA today demonstrated different types of weapons at a function organised at the Army pavilion to mark the Army Day. Raised as ShreeNath company by the late King Prithivi Narayan Shah, RNA now has evolved as 78,000-strong force with six divisions.