DHANGADHI: Bishu festival, which is marked with great fervour in the hilly districts of Province 6 and 7, has started from today with the beginning of Nepali New Year 2075. The festival, which bids farewell to the closing year and welcomes the new year, is celebrated for almost a week in the far western districts of Nepal. On the occasion of the festival, locals worship their family deity, share and eat an offering of newly harvested wheat. Fairs are held in various places of the region during Bishu festival. People throng religious sites such as Khaptad, Triveni, Baisdhara of Dipayal, Godavari of Kailali among others to take holy bath. Locals also celebrate the festival by singing Deuda, which is a local Nepali song performed during festivals in the far western region of the country. Likewise, locals believe that splashing one another with nettle leaf water would absolve them of the mistakes and sins of the past year. This tradition is carried out with much enjoyment among the children and youth. Cultural expert Badri Sharma Binadi said, there is a belief in the communities here that any work initiated from Bishu with a pure heart would garner success. He further added that the tradition of splashing each other with nettle water creates a fun-filled environment, where especially sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws tease each other giving the festival an amusing touch. Similarly, the festival also witnesses herders worshipping wooden sticks. They decorate their sticks by painting them with different colours. They also create a tiger's dummy which they take around the village, and then ultimately destroy. By doing so in the new year, they believe that tigers would not attack they livestock throughout the year. This merriment is carried out by herders in villages of the far-west region. Locals who have left home for work or other reasons also come home during this time of the year, which is a matter of great joy to the family members, adding value to the importance of the festival.