Tens of thousands of animals are sacrificed to goddess Gadhimai during the fair, which takes place on November 24 and 25 every five years. “As many as 10,000 buffaloes, 200,000 goats and tens of thousands of birds will be sacrificed during the fair,” said chief priest of the temple Mangal Chaudhary.
While the fair venue in Bariyapur has been all set for the carnage, Bamjan-led anti-sacrifice campaign has intensified. He has also requested the local administration to put an end to the age-old practice.
Chief District Officer of Bara Tara Nath Gautam confirmed that Bamjan had approached him with anti-sacrifice appeal but refused to comment further. The followers of Bamjan have already started distributing leaflets in Nepali and Hindi language with appeals to stop animal sacrifices during the fair.
President of Namabuddha Tapoban Committee Bed Bahadur Lama said that Bamjan would go to the venue to lead the campaign himself. “The priests of Gadhimai Temple have underestimated the campaign,” Lama said, adding that that they would organize a press meet in the capital on Monday to gather momentum for the campaign.
Meanwhile, Mangal Chaudhary, priest of the Gadhimai Temple said that the age old tradition would continue as usual. “In fact, we expect more sacrifices this year,” he told myrepublica.com.
The two-day fair starts with a ritual called ´Panchabali´, which means slaughtering five different animals -- mouse, pigeon, pig, nanny goat and billy goat -- followed by mass slaughter of 10,000 thousand buffaloes on the very first day. Thousands of goats as well as birds are slaughtered the other day.
Tens of thousands of people from India attend the fair. In the neighboring villages, people seem to have already purchased cattle and birds to offer their sacrifices to the Goddess.
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