Kathmandu Valley to observe chariot festival today

Kathmandu: The Kathmandu Valley will on Friday observe a public holiday on the occasion of the chariot festival `Rato Machhindranath Bhoto Jatra`.

The Nepal Government had yesterday announced the holiday and the spokesperson at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Yadav Prasad Koirala, confirmed the same, reports the Himalayan Times.

Machindranath Jatra is the longest chariot festival in Nepal which starts just before the beginning of monsoon.Legends associated with the Machindranath Jatra celebration say that the procession once rescued Kathmandu Valley of severe drought.

It is also believed that the Lichhavi King Narendra Dev brought the idol of Rato Machhindranath from India`s north-eastern Assam state to rid his country of the drought.

The month-long procession concludes after the chariot crosses the river Bungamati in Lalitpur and finally ends with another festival called the Bhoto Jatra.