People smeared colors and vermillion on each others´ faces, children threw water balloons at passersby and groups gathered at different places to celebrate the festival in a joyous manner.[break]
Notable change, however, was that the day went without any mishaps that invariably were part of the Holi celebrations in the past.
The police had warned people against resorting to mischief on the pretext of celebrating holi. Metropolitan Police Commissioner´s Office (MPCO), Ranipokhari, had made ´special security´ arrangement, deploying additional security personnel across the Valley to prevent hooliganism.
“No untoward incidents were reported on the day in the capital. The day passed off peacefully with very few and minor bike related incidents,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner AIG Nawaraj Dhakal said.
Holi celebrations at Basantapur. (Photo: Dipesh Shrestha)
Very few incidents of alcohol and drugs abuse, drink-driving, forceful smearing of colors were reported compared to the past.
We were totally prepared to prevent unpleasant incidents such as gang fights and mistreatment of women and tourists, AIG Dhakal said.
According to the DSP Chakra Bahadur Singh, spokesperson at Metropolitan Police Range Office, Hanumandhoka, the police nabbed about 310 people and detained 99 motorbikes from various places in Kathmandu. Patrol teams, plainclothes men and mobile forces were active to maintain order during the day.
A majority of arrests took place from Baneswhar, Sohrakhutte, Durbar Marg and Balaju for traffic rules violation and forceful smearing of colors.
Among the arrested were two girls from Shorakhutte area for involvement in forceful smearing of colors, DSP Singh said.
MPRO Hanumandhoka informed that the practice of consuming bhang and ganja were also strictly prohibited during the holi celebration. However, Metropolitan Police Circle Office Balaju arrested Chotelal Kalwar, 65, an Indian citizen who owns a sweet shop in Balaju, for preparing sweets by mixing ganja. Police seized 1200 gms of sweets from his shop.
According to SSP Rajendraman Shrestha, Chief at Metropolitan Police Range Office, Lalitpur, about 70 people were arrested and 60 motorbikes were seized in Latitpur during the festival. He also expressed satisfaction over the support of the public in making Holi more disciplined and cultured.
In Bhaktapur, more than 30 people were arrested for traffic rules violation. According to Bhaktapur police, five were arrested for throwing muddy water at police officials. They were later handed over to their guardians.
Foreigners play with holi with locals. (Photo: Dipesh Shrestha)
Likewise, Metropolitan Police Traffic Division (MPTD) has also charged over thousand vehicles for violating traffic rules. DIG Upendra Kanta Aryal, Chief at MPTD expressed satisfaction over the entire traffic operation. In the past, we had witnessed several incidents including huge loss of life and property, but this year we handled few minor cases of motorbike strikes only, DIG Aryal said.
Though there were few private and public vehicles on the road, we deployed over 1000 traffic policemen with 64 check points at different accident prone zones, DIG Aryal said.
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Holi being celebrated across Hilly districts today
