NEPAL:IN THE latest blow to Nepal's recently abolished monarchy, the former king's household cavalry, based in Kathmandu, has been ordered by the country's Supreme Court to relocate its stables as the stench from them was polluting a complex of government buildings.
The cavalry - which has been part of the king's accoutrements since the 19th century with its 100- strong horse contingent performing an important ceremonial role - was declared an environmental hazard by the court this week in response to a public interest litigation, and was asked to move to a "less dense" area within 12 months.
Prakash Sharma, the lawyer behind the case maintained, that the overpowering odour from the horses' dung or "waste matter" had for decades forced thousands of people working in the vicinity of their stables to either close their windows and suffocate or flee to other offices.
King Gyanendra's omnipotence had precluded any legal recourse earlier.
The Supreme Court ruling also decreed that the cavalry "properly manage" the horse dung to prevent it from assaulting the public's olfactory senses.
The king's cavalry is housed in the rambling and ornate Singha Durbar adjoining the former king's palace in the capital Kathmandu, an area where Nepal's courts, its Bar Association and several other government ministries are also located.
Nepal became a republic late last month. On Wednesday, deposed king Gyanendra moved out of Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, where his family had lived for more than a century, after the 15-day deadline to leave, imposed by Nepal's Maoist-led assembly, expired.
Mr Shah (61), as he is now known, accompanied by his wife Komal, showed no emotion as he swept out of the palace compound in the back of a black Mercedes.
Earlier, he said he had returned his crown but would not go into exile and would work for the republic's benefit.
After Nepal's constituent assembly voted to abolish 240 years of monarchal rule and render the Himalayan country a republic, the king's grim-faced portrait was removed from bank notes and his name deleted from the national anthem.
Like the commoner he now is, the erstwhile king will now be taxed on his vast properties and penalised if he breaks the law. He even faces the embarrassment of his water and electricity supply being disconnected if he fails to pay his utility bills.