These groups as well as Hindu devotees are seeking donations from them to clean the river beds and ponds for the celebration of the Chhath festival. [break]
Rastriya Madhes Samajwadi Party candidate for constituency 3 of Bara, Pramod Gupta, said that the voters in the constituency have been demanding donations to clean the river beds and ponds. Gupta also admitted that he paid donations for cleaning up the rivers and ponds for Chhath celebrations. The Chhath festival falls on November 8 and 9.
Bara district consists of 98 Village Development Committees and a municipality and Chhath is celebrated in almost all the places.
According to local political leaders, each candidate in the district had to dole out over Rs 200,000 for Chhath celebrations.
Election publicity coordinator of the Nepali Congress in Bara, Bijaya Yadav, said that the people even seek loans or borrow money to celebrate the festival. He said poor people have been seeking donations from the candidates to celebrate the festival. He said the candidates have been doling out money to poor Hindu devotees to appease them.
To make matters more difficult for candidates, some of the poor villagers have also been demanding new clothes from the candidates besides money to celebrate the Chhath festival. Most of the candidates from major political parties have provided financial assistance to the villagers, according to the locals.
Chhat fasting will begin after the devotees offer Argha to rising Sun on Friday and end with their prayers to the setting sun on Saturday.
The devotees, during the festival, express their gratitude to Sun god for sustaining life on earth and seek prosperity for their family members.
Related story
Budget for FY 2024/25: Strive for Fiscal Realism
_20211110163458.png)
