The chariot of Rato Machchhindranath has been pulled Sunday afternoon after it was stopped following the clash of locals and police on Thursday.
The chariot of Rato Machchhindranath, revered as the god of rain and good times, was pulled in presence of limited persons. It has been pulled amidst tight security arrangements in Pulchowk area.
It will be pulled from the current position in Pulchowk to the Sorhakhutte pati in front of Lalitpur Metropolitan Office.
The police had used force to stop locals and members of guthis (community trust) who started pulling the chariot in Pulchowk defying prohibitory orders on Thursday.
The irate locals pelted stones at the police injuring some of the police personnel. The chariot, that was stranded at Pulchowk for a long time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was pulled Thursday by the restless locals who feel it should be taken to Bungmati before the extra lunar month (Malamas), which is considered inauspicious for religious and cultural rituals, starts.
The extra lunar month of Malamas, which occurs every third year, starts from September 18 this year.
The police tried to intervene in the beginning but could not stop the locals who thronged in their hundreds. But the police later started using water cannon to disperse the locals, some of whom are without face masks. They also fired tear gas shells when the locals started pelting stones.
Locals had started pulling the chariot with the Malamas just two weeks away.
Building of the chariot should have started on April 9 but did not due to the lockdown. It started only on June 24. Pulling of the chariot, as per the delayed schedule, should have started on August 17 but it was stopped on instruction of the Guthi Sansthan.
The locals started to pull the chariot Thursday as it should reach Bungmati before the Dashain, which starts immediately after end of the Malamas this year, and it cannot be pulled during the extra lunar month.
