Gorkha, Jan 11: Five local units of Gorkha district have given public holiday today on the occasion of the 299th Prithvi Jayanti and the National Unity Day. The birth anniversary of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of modern Nepal, used to be marked as the national unity day. It was the late King Shah who initiated the national unification campaign which united the then small principalities into a strong nation, consolidating the national independence. The local units giving public holiday today include the Gorkha Municipality, Palungtar Municipality, Ajirkot Rural Municipality, Siranchok Rural Municipality and Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality. The chief administrative officers of these local units announced public holiday today through separate notices. It is stated in the notices that the public holiday has been given for a day today in respect and commemoration of the unifier of modern Nepal. King Prithvi Narayan Shah was born in Gorkha in 1779 BS and became the king of the then Gorkha principality.
