Gyanendra

Kathmandu, Feb. 9 (Reuters): The picture of Nepal’s unpopular King Gyanendra will be replaced by that of Mount Everest on the Himalayan country’s 10-rupee notes, the finance minister said today.

The cabinet picked the world’s highest mountain over Lord Buddha yesterday to replace the monarch’s image. Officials had earlier suggested that currency notes carry the picture of Buddha, born a prince in Nepal more than 2,600 years ago.

“We decided to go in for Sagarmatha instead of the Buddha because some Buddhist religious organisations were against having his picture on currency notes,” finance minister Ram Sharan Mahat said. Sagarmatha, which means head of the sea, is the Nepali name for the world’s highest peak that stands at 8,850 metres .

The move to remove Gyanendra’s picture comes months after he was stripped of nearly all his powers following mass protests last year that ended nearly 15 months of his absolute rule.