By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Jan. 11: The government on Sunday decided to give public holiday on January 14 on the occasion of Maghi or Makar Sankranti festival.
A meeting of the Council of Ministers held at the official residence of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Baluwatar, decided to observe public holiday on the day, according to Minister for Communication and Information Technology Parbat Gurung.
A proposal in this regard was tabled by Ministry of Home Affairs, according to Kiran Bhattarai, press advisor to Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa.
This is probably the first time the government has given public holiday to mark Maghi festival.
Maghi festival is celebrated in different parts of the country on the first day of the Nepali month of Magh when the sun begins its northward journey from southwards. The festival is especially popular among Tharu, Newar and Chhetri communities.
On the day, Hindus take a holy dip into rivers and ponds, worship at various temples and relish delicacies like ghee, yam, Khichadi and sweets like Chaku and those made of sesame and molasses.
Addressing the meeting of the NA summoned on Sunday, Prime Minister Oli also informed that the government had given public holiday to mark the Maghi festival.
Also, the Cabinet meeting held this morning decided to recommend President Bidya Devi Bhandari for announcing the end of the winter session of the National Assembly to come into effect from midnight of January 10.
Upon the recommendation of the government, the President Office wrote a letter to the National Assembly on Sunday afternoon informing about the decision in accordance with Article 93 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal, according to Keshav Prasad Ghimire, under-secretary and assistant spokesperson at the President’s Office.
National Assembly Speaker Ganesh Prasad Timilsina while reading out a letter sent by President announced the end of the current session on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers and said that the seventh session would end on Sunday at 12 PM.
The session, which started on Poush 17, lasted for ten days. Altogether four meetings had been held in this session.