Nepal scales back Hindu chariot festival as country experiences COVID-19 surge

Following an agreement between organisers and authorities to prevent last year’s violent confrontations, a truncated version of a Hindu chariot festival took place on May 15 in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. A five-story-high wooden chariot of the deity Rato Machindranath, whose statue is made from clay and covered in red paint with wide-open eyes, is usually pulled by devotees around Kathmandu. The festival lasts about a month a draws tens of thousands of people. 

However, this year, amid coronavirus restrictions, only around hundred-hand-picked devotees were allowed to pull the chariot for just a few meters. According to AP, the riot police had sealed off the neighbourhood to prevent any spectators from entering as the country is experiencing a virus surge, with record numbers of new infections and deaths. Nepal authorities had also imposed a lockdown across most of the nation last month and extended it in recent days by another two weeks. 

In the midst of the rising cases and deaths, the agreement to drastically scale back the festival came after consultations among local politicians, officials, security forces, priests and organisers. The agreement also came in a bid to avoid a repeat of violent confrontations between police and protests. This year several devotees stayed home and celebrated with feats and rituals with their families. The festival is held in the belief that it will please God so they can provide for a generous rainfall, a good harvest and prosperity. 

COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal 

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Nepal has reported 447,704 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,856 deaths. Last week, its neighbouring China also cancelled attempts to climb Mount Everest from its side of the world’s highest peak because of fears of importing COVID-19 cases from Nepal. Recently, the country's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had also said that the country is battling a new and brutal wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also appealed to the UK and other developed nations to urgently provide his country with essential medical items, life-saving drugs and vaccines to combat the pandemic, PTI reported. 

"Nepal’s history is one of hardship and struggle, yet this pandemic is pushing even us to our limits. The number of infections is straining the healthcare system; it has become tough to provide patients with the hospital beds that they need," PTI quoted Oli citing his oped in the Guardian. 

(With AP, PTI inputs)