Celebration on the streets, protests outside palace

Thousands marched, danced and sang in the streets of Katmandu after the vote, setting off firecrackers, waving hammer-and-sickle flags and denouncing King Gyanendra.

At least a dozen people including two policemen were injured today when thousands of demonstrators clashed with riot police outside the heavily-guarded royal palace here demanding immediate removal of Nepal8217;s ousted King Gyanendra from his traditional abode.

The demonstrators, mainly youths and students, gathered in front of the main gate of the Naraynhiti palace, shouting anti-King slogans and demanding his ouster from the palace.

Police baton-charged, fired tear gas cells and also opened fire in the air to disperse the demonstrators when they tried to plant a national flag on the gate of the palace.

The royal insignia placed in front of the centuries-old Narayanhiti palace was removed around 8.30 am local time.

The royal flag, a red square decorated with a flag-waving lion, was replaced at the palace by Nepal8217;s national flag, a red banner of two triangles adorned with a sun and moon.

There was no immediate reaction to the abolition of his throne from the dour 61-year-old former monarch, who remained silent as it became apparent that his days as king were numbered.

His throne had become meaningless in the two years since widespread protests against his royal dictatorship forced him to restore democracy, prompting the Maoists to come out of the bush.

An interim government removed Gyanendra as the chief of the army, his portrait was replaced by Mount Everest on the currency and references to the king dropped from the national anthem.

Then came April8217;s vote for the assembly in which the Maoists won the most seats, all but sealing the fate of the Shah dynasty, which dates to 1769 when a regional ruler conquered Kathmandu and united Nepal.

On Wednesday, the assembly gave Gyanendra 15 days to quit the 1970s-era palace and move to his large private residence in the city 8212; or face eviction.

Few here are mourning the end of dynasty whose kings were once regarded as reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu, but were often fratricidal tyrants who reigned over a land that to this day more closely resembles medieval Europe than a modern nation.