Taplejung, January 2:

Interacting with people, who had gathered at the district headquarters of Taplejung today to welcome him, King Gyanendra assured the locals that peace and security will be restored in the country.

Accompanied by the Queen, the King is on a 22-day visit to eastern Nepal. “Be assured that peace will be reinstated in the nation.”

The King instructed the officials to gravel the 15-kilometre Taplejung-Suketar road within two months.

The King and the Queen also accepted ‘prasad’ and ‘tika’ offered to them by Dilli Acharya, the priest of the Pathivara temple.

The chairman of the District Development Committee and the coordinator of the Main Celebration Committee, Ram Prasad Palungwa, submitted an appeal to the King, requesting him to make provisions for power, black-topping of the Phidim-Taplejung road section, security around the Kanchanjunga Conservation Area, employment and training opportunities for the conflict-affected people, free education to the conflict-hit children and gravelling of the Taplejung-Suketar road.

Hundreds of people from different villages of Taplejung, Panchthar and Tehrathum districts, who had come to welcome the royal couple, asked the King to give them peace and security.

The King and the Queen returned to Itahari after an hour-long interaction with the people.