Kathmandu — More than a million people packed Kathmandu Durbar Square and the surrounding streets over the weekend for Indra Jatra, the eight-day festival honouring the god of rain, in what organisers say was the largest turnout in the celebration's recorded history.
The highlight came Saturday evening when the Kumari, Kathmandu's living goddess, was pulled through the old city in her ceremonial chariot alongside the chariots of Bhairav and Ganesh, drawing crowds so dense that police diverted traffic from three surrounding wards.
Cultural historians say the swelling attendance reflects both a post-pandemic resurgence in public festivals and a rise in domestic tourism to the valley. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City office said it deployed extra sanitation and medical crews this year after complaints about overcrowding during last year's celebration.