Flood-battered Nepal kicks off festival season with weeklong Indra Jatra as more rain is predicted
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Devotees pulled a wooden chariot with a girl revered as a living goddess in Nepal, kicking off the festival season in the Himalayan nation on Friday even as it struggles to recover from devastating floods last month. Meteorologists warned of more heavy rainfall this week.
The weeklong Indra Jatra festival is the first of a string of celebrations in the predominantly Hindu nation. Dasain, the main festival, is coming up in October, while Tihar — or Diwali, the Festival of Lights — is due in November.
The festival of Indra Jatra marks the end of the monsoon and rice farming season and signals the start of fall. It’s celebrated mostly by the Newar community, the native residents of Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital. It is also known as the festival of deities and demons, and especially honors Indra, the Hindu god of rain.
As Kumari, a young girl revered by both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal as a living goddess, was taken around the center of Kathmandu, worshippers lined up to receive her blessing. Nepalese President Ram Chandra Poudel, officials and diplomats attended the ceremony on Friday.
Nepalese authorities warned of heavy rainfall forecast until Sunday and cautioned residents living near rivers. Schools across the country were shut down on Thursday and Friday.
Landslides and flooding on Friday closed some major highways, but no casualties were reported.
According to the country’s disaster management agency, rescuers were still looking for those missing in the massive Aug. 26 flooding that destroyed several towns and killed 1,453 people when a Himalayan slope collapsed and unleashed catastrophic flooding.
Some 5,550 people are still missing, including hundreds of foreign tourists. Family members of workers missing at a key power plant since the flooding have demanded authorities speed up the recovery efforts.
The Free Press acknowledges the financial support it receives from members of the city’s faith community, which makes our coverage of religion possible.
