Clashes erupt in Nepal as crowd attend religious festival despite ban
- 4 years ago
Locals in the Pulchowk area of Kathmandu gathered to celebrate the annual Rato Machindranath chariot festival despite government orders against crowds due to COVID-19.
Footage shows residents pulling the traditional chariot when police descend on the scene, followed by a water cannon truck.
The filmer, @feedthehungrynp on Twitter, told Newsflare: "The local Newar community have an annual festival namely Rato Machhindranath Jatra where the rath (chariot) is pulled manually with the help of 80-100 people.
"The festival was cancelled this year due to COVID-19 but the locals had their logical and cultural reasons to move the chariot."
They also said: "The police force in order to control the situation used water cannons and tear gas.
"The locals and the police force thus got into a fight."
Footage shows residents pulling the traditional chariot when police descend on the scene, followed by a water cannon truck.
The filmer, @feedthehungrynp on Twitter, told Newsflare: "The local Newar community have an annual festival namely Rato Machhindranath Jatra where the rath (chariot) is pulled manually with the help of 80-100 people.
"The festival was cancelled this year due to COVID-19 but the locals had their logical and cultural reasons to move the chariot."
They also said: "The police force in order to control the situation used water cannons and tear gas.
"The locals and the police force thus got into a fight."