A ceremony was held earlier today at Government House to begin work on putting up a ger to hold the state fire and the nine white flags of the nation. The ger will be on the inner quadrangle of the building and will have 15 walls and 12 columns. It will be 7.3 meters high and will have a base diameter of 16 meters.

The proposal had come from 10 MPs and after President Ts.Elbegdorj had approved it, the Government asked J.Erdeneshan of Shine-Ider soum of Khuvsgul aimag, who is an authority on gers, to make the design.

Today’s ceremony was attended by Deputy Speaker G.Batkhuu; Deputy Prime Ministers N.Altankhuyag and M.Enkhbold; Minister for Social Welfare and Labor T.Gandi, for Mineral Resources and Energy D.Zorigt, and for Finance S.Bayartsogt; MPs N.Batbayar, Ts.Batbayar, Ts.Davaasuren, and Ts.Shinebayar;  Chairman of Anti Corruption Authority Ch.Sangaragchaa; President of the Mongol Bank L.Purevdorj; Chief of the General Election Committee, N.Luvsanjav, and Chief of the State Service Council, D.Zumberellkham. They also hung wooden pools inside the ger.

MP N.Batbayar, one of the MPs behind the proposal, answers our journalist’s questions.

What will the ger symbolize?
It will have the state fire which stands for the eternal purity of the Mongol nation. The nine white flags will stand on soil brought from all 21 aimags, and the base will also have nine precious minerals in it. It will also have nine spheres to represent the solar system.

What would the hearth be like?
It will be a proper Mongol hearth, not like the ones in use since the Manchu times.

Why did you choose today for the ceremony?
Today is an auspicious day according to the lunar calendar for assembling a ger.