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जुन जोगी आए नि कानै चिरेका! प्यारजंग पनि त्यस्तै, सुजाता पनि त्यस्तै!
PM granddaughter’s big fat wedding mocks law
BY BIKASH SANGRAULA
KATHMANDU, July 7 - The capital city Thursday saw one of the biggest wedding parties since the series of wedding parties for Chief of Army Staff General Pyar Jung Thapa's daughter two months ago. The bride was Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's granddaughter Melanie Koirala Jost, and the groom was Rubel Chowdhury, a Bangladesh national. The venue: Hotel Everest.
A hotel staffer said that some 3,500 guests were invited to the reception. Among them were Nepal's who's who, including deputy prime ministers, ministers, parliamentarians, leaders of political parties, heads of diplomatic missions, security chiefs and officers, administrators, civil society leaders, publishers and editors. Journalists and party workers were also invited.
However, Maoist leaders were not present, and neither was the prime minister, who is battling pneumonia at the ICU of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center. Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala was also present.
A Nepali Congress leader who was one of the invitees equated the party in terms of lavishness with that of the army chief's daughter, and said this is a matter of public concern. He also complained that he had to wait for about half an hour in the traffic jam while on his way to the reception.
A traffic police officer, who was scrambling in the hotel parking lot to manage the ever increasing number of vehicles, said some 1,500 vehicles arrived at the venue since 2 pm. With the hotel parking lot running out of space, vehicles had to be diverted to the parking lot at Birendra International Convention Center.
The prime minister's daughter Sujata Koirala had booked the hotel's pool-side cafe for 2 pm to 6 pm and the Grand Ball Room for invitees from 6 pm onwards. The bride's family also booked several rooms at the hotel for the groom's family.
Traffic moved at snail's pace in the Baneswore and Maitighar areas right from the afternoon till late evening, thanks to the massive attendance at the wedding party. In fact, traffic came to a total standstill in these areas for hours in the evening and several dozen traffic personnel had to sweat it out and scream to clear the jam.
The country's Social Behavior Reform Act 1976 bars marriage parties from having more than 51 invitees. The recent series of wedding parties of the army chief's daughter was strongly criticized for lavishness.
Posted on: 2006-07-06 20:46:24 (Server Time)
