Lumbini, Dec 17: Two tuskers which the Nepal government gifted to Qatar government were flown to Qatar today.
The elephants namely Khagendra Prasad and Rudrakali were sent to Qatar via a cargo chartered flight of the Qatar Airways on Wednesday. The elephants were taken to Bhairahawa from Sauraha, Chitwan via road on Monday before the departure to Qatar.
The gifted elephants were sent to Qatar from the Bhairahawa-based Gautam Buddha International Airport via Boeing 777 F Freighter Cargo aircraft under the Flight Number QR 8824 of the Qatar Airways at 5.00 pm this afternoon.
Earlier, the Nepal government had decided to gift a couple of elephants to Qatar during the Nepal visit by Qatar’s King Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on 23-24 April 2024.
Rudrakali and Khagendra Prasad who were reared in the Sauraha-based Elephant Reproduction and Training Centre were chosen for gift to Qatar.
Female Rudrakali is seven years old while the male Khagenra Prasad is of five years.The tuskers were handed to the Qatar government as the gift at Bhairahawa Airport.
Secretary at the Ministry of Forest, Rajendra Prasad Mishra handed over the elephants to the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Qatar Embassy, Khalifa Almari.
On the occasion, Secretary Mishra expressed the confidence that the handover of elephants as gift would further deepen the Nepal-Qatar diplomatic relations.
Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy, Almari extended happiness and gratefulness to Nepal for the gift.
