They will have to wait much longer as the government has not yet fixed the date for showcasing the crown at Narayanhiti Palace Museum (NPM) for viewing by the general public.[break]
Although it has been more than two years since the government formed a committee to make arrangements for exhibiting the crown, no fixed date has been set. As a result thousands of people who visit NPM hoping to see the crown have to return disappointed.
“The culture ministry has to give us permission to showcase the crown, and only then will we place the crown on display for the general public,” said Lekh Bahadur Karki, chief of NPM. “Although we have completed all preparations for the exhibition, the committee has not shown any interest in taking matters any further.”
According to Karki, they have constructed a bulletproof glass box, in which the crown will be kept as ordered by the government. Along with the box, the windows of the room where the crown will be exhibited are also to be bullet-proof. In the interest of total security, the box and the windows are to be checked by the Nepal Police.
Most of the things necessary for showcasing the crown are ready. Covering for the bullet-proof box and a railing around the room are the remaining work which will be carried out while placing the crown inside the bullet-proof box.
“We will have to hire some expertise from abroad for covering the box because we do not have such expertise in Nepal,” said Karki. “So, these works will be done at the time of placing the crown inside the box.”
While the bullet-proof box and the windows are being taken care of, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) still shows a lack of security planning.
“The crown is a very precious thing; so we have to ensure strong security for exhibiting it,” said Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesperson of MoCTCA. “We are in talks with the Nepal Police and the Army over security planning. Once we are done with the security planning, the crown will be showcased for public display.”
According to Karki, the crown is being kept safely inside the Sailung Room at NPM. Along with the crown, there are 12 other precious items pertaining to the royal family, including the crown worn by the queen, the royal sword, the golden scepter (raj danda) and the royal umbrellas.
These will be placed inside the bullet-proof room along with the crown.
Karki blames the committee, which is led by Joint Secretary Narayan Regmi with representatives from various organizations such as the Nepal Army, the Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers´ Association and Nepal Police as members, for delay in exhibiting the crown.
“The committee must be active and carry out the work at full speed. At present, no one is concerned with this issue. We have to answer to the public rather than to them,” said Karki.
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