Day-off today to allow voting

Bhaktapur, April 9:

While the whole nation was waiting eagerly for CA polls, Bhaktapur denizens were today busy celebrating Bisket Jatra, being equally conscious about tomorrow’s polls.

The nine-day festival, the biggest festival in Bhaktapur, formally kicked off after the Bhaktapur branch of the Guthi Corporation offered puja to lord Bhairabnath at Taumadhi Tole at around 2 pm.

Hundreds of locals from either sides of the locality began the festival by pulling the three-storey Pagoda-style chariot towards Gahiti that lies in Ward No 12 of Bhaktapur Municipality.

Ananta Prasad Dhaubhdel, a social worker at Taumadhi Tole, said thousands of people participated in the festival. “Though the number of people who turned up for the festival was as usual large, they seemed conscious about tomorrow’s CA polls and were performing all activities on stipulated time,” he said.

According to the Guthi Corporation, the festival activities started as early as possible to wrap up the day’s schedule at around 6 pm, while they used to continue till late in the evening in the previous years. “People are very excited about the polls; therefore the locals coordinated with the Guthi to wrap up the day’s schedule as early as possible,” said Dhaubhdel. The festival won’t be celebrated tomorrow and the celebrations would resume the day after tomorrow.

Ram Karna Prajapati who was all set to pull the chariot said, “I am more excited about tomorrow’s poll than today’s festival.” He said he needed to take rest after pulling the chariot to Gaahiti, so that he could be on time to vote tomorrow morning. “We also need to give some time to the political parties who arrive at our homes in the night asking for votes,” he added.

Bhaktapur CDO Dilli Pradad Sibakoti said everything about the festival and the polls was going smoothly. “There is tight security for both the festival and the polls to prevent any untoward incident,” he said.

According to Sibakoti, 1,040 security personnel have been deployed in Bhaktapur district for the polls.