Kathmandu, October 18
Citing the risk of coronavirus infection, high state officials and the former king have decided not to offer Dashain Tika to the public on the day of Vijaya Dashami this year.
The biggest day of the biggest festival in the country falls on Monday next week.
Traditionally, the state officials including the present and the prime minister would offer Tika as a prasad of Goddess Durga to visitors. However, there will not be such events this year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Offering Tika has been challenging in consideration of the current situation,” President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s personal secretary Bhesh Raj Adhikari says, “We will issue an official notice about this before the day. The chance of offering Tika is very slim.”
Likewise, an official in Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s secretariat says Oli will not offer Tika to the public.
On the other hand, former monarch, King Gyanendra Shah’s secretariat has already issued a notice on the first day of the 15-day Dashain festival on Saturday, clarifying the public will not be offered Tika this year.
Shah’s aide Phani Raj Pathak says Sha will not visit any temples also this Dashain.
