What a shock to read that a 200-member 'high level committee' has been formed to celebrate King Gyanendra's auspicious birthday for three days. I urge the king through this letter to please ask this high level committee to stop the extravaganza. The kingdom is in crisis now with the western half of the country paralysed by a transport strike, a threatened closure of all schools, and the peace process in serious jeopardy. The king should call a moratorium on all celebrations till peace has been secured, and the peoples\' hope for the future is restored. Nepal should be in mourning right now, and even when we turn the corner to better days, the kind of money and energy wasted on celebrations should be spent on reconstruction, rehabilitation and development with the monarch taking the lead.

Deepa Singh,
Maharajganj