| KATHMANDU: Nepal's King Gyanendra was yesterday said to be packing his bags, the day after a Maoist-dominated assembly voted to abolish the country's monarchy. "According to our sources, the king is packing up his personal belongings to move out of the palace," said Kishore Shrestha, editor of the weekly newspaper Jana Aastha. In a sign that the king is likely to respect the verdict of the assembly that ended his reign, the royal flag was lowered yesterday and replaced by the triangular national flag, as the Himalayan nation celebrated the vote declaring a republic. Celebrations tapered off with Nepalis relaxing on the second day of a three-day national holiday declared to celebrate the country's new status. The king has yet to make any comment on a historic constitutional assembly vote that abolished his 240-year-old dynasty. "He is said to be leaving the palace today for Nagarjun," a royal lodge on the outskirts of Kathmandu, or a private home in the capital, said Shrestha. Hundreds of protesters demanding that Gyanendra must immediately leave his palace clashed with police, injuring more than 25 people. Stone-throwing demonstrators tried to storm the palace, prompting police to beat them back. Police have kept the area sealed off for several days now. "Gyanendra, thief, leave the palace!" they shouted. A Maoist spokesman said Nepal was now free of "feudal tradition," and promised "a radical social and economic transformation." The king has been given two weeks to vacate the sprawling pink palace, with the complex to be transformed into a museum. Many ordinary Nepalese are delighted to see the back of the unpopular king and his son, Paras - notorious for his playboy lifestyle. A $300,000 (BD113,400) annual allowance for the royal family was also stopped, but the king is unlikely to feel any significant financial pinch. He has investments in several businesses and shares worth around $15.7 million (BD6m). Unpopular The vote in the 601-member assembly saw just four legislators oppose the radical change. But a leading Hindu group in Nepal threatened protests to prevent what they said would undermine the neutrality and unity of a country. "Monarchy and Hinduism are necessary so that the country does not fragment," said the World Hindu Federation. The US, meanwhile, has revised its policy and will meet former Maoist rebels now in top positions in the new government. But a senior official said that the degree to which US would work with them depended on how successfully they stayed away from violence. Gyanendra came to throne after a bizarre palace massacre in 2001. His nephew, Dipendra gunned down most of the royal family, including the king and queen, after he was prevented from marrying the woman he loved. Gyanendra was at the centre of many conspiracy theories linking him to the killings. | 
