KATHMANDU: Bisket Jatra, an annual festival celebrated by the residents of Tokha in northern Kathmandu, has begun today.

Starting on the first day of the Nepali New Year, Baisakh 1, the four-day event sees a cart with god and goddess, Ganesha and Kumari, being pulled through the town. A wooden pole (Lingo) has been erected near a Ganesh temple at Thanelachhi Chok last week.

According to Chairperson of the Festival Management Committee Ganesh Man Shrestha, various deities are worshipped throughout the festival, which has a historical root and is supposed to have begun with the motive to save local people from evil spells cast by various forces during an ancient era.

The festival in Tokha does not have the tradition of tongue-piercing unlike the festival in Bhaktapur area.

Special attention has been given to mobilising volunteers, prohibiting alcohol and tightening security, informed Shrestha. Marking the occasion, a fair is also being held in the area with visitors arriving from Kathmandu and nearby areas of the valley.