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Hindus across the country are observing the Kojagrat Poornima (full moon day) today as part of the final day of the 15-day Bada Dashain festival by worshiping and paying homage to Mahalaxmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity.

The Bada Dashain festival formally ends today with the marking of the Kojagrat Poornima--devotees offering worship to Mahalaxmi at their homes in the evening, and keeping vigil the whole night.

There is a belief that the goddess Mahalaxmi takes a trip around the world on the night of Kojagrat Poornima 'to check as to who is observing the vigil on this particular night'. As per this belief, the goddess of wealth blesses the people who are found observing the overnight vigil, said Member of Nepal Calendar Determination Committee, Prof Devmani Bhattarai.

Since the ritual of giving and receiving Tika and Jamara of the Dashain festival also concludes on this day, the Jamara that is sprouted and anointed at the Dashainghar and Kot on the day of Ghatasthapana is disposed of in ponds, rivers and holy places as per the religious tradition.

People also perform worship at the Swoyambhu Chaitya and observe the night vigil by lighting the Mahadeep lamp.

The Westerly wind has partial influence across the country, combined with the impact of local winds in the hilly region of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki provinces at present, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology said.

The weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and mainly fair in the rest of the country with chances of light to moderate rain at some places of the hilly region in Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces in the afternoon today. 

Similarly, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy in the hilly region and fair in the rest of the country tonight.

There is a possibility of light to moderate rain at one or two places of the hilly region of Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Provinces, the Department stated in its weather bulletin.

Light to moderate rainfall is forecast at one or two places of the hilly region of all provinces in the next 24 hours.

Four people have died and 12 others sustained injuries when a passenger bus met with an accident in Dadeldhura last night.

The bus was on its way towards Purchaudi of Baitadi from Mahendranagar when the mishap occurred at Khasrekhan of Amargadhi Municipality-7, Dadeldhura.

Two women, a man and an infant died on the spot, said Police Inspector Upendra Bahadur Bam at the District Police Office Dadeldhura.

The deceased have been identified as 45-year-old Jayamati Bohara, 20-year-old Kamala Bohara, her infant son and 22-year-old Sahadev Bohara of Purchaudi Municipality-3 in Baitadi district.

Bus driver Birendra Bohara is critically injured in the accident and he has been taken to Dhangadhi for treatment.

The remaining injured persons are receiving treatment at Dadeldhura Hospital, Police Inspector Bam said.

Police suspect that the accident occurred as the driver fell asleep.

Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav has said the entire works on repair and maintenance of the Nallu, Basuki and Devaki water supply projects would be completed within 15 days.

He said so after inspecting the water sources of these projects in Godawari Municipality, Lalitpur on Tuesday. The water supply system in Godawari was disrupted after the flooding and landslide triggered by incessant rains on September 27 and 28 damaged the various structures.

"Today we took stock of the situation of the water source areas. A team comprised of the Director General of the Department of Forests, the Chief of the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) and the technical team from our Ministry reached the source of the water supply. The team will prepare a report along with the estimated cost. We will immediately start the repair and maintenance works once they submit the report," the Water Supply Minister said on the occasion. 

Stating that water is the basic right of citizens, Minister Yadav directed the officials concerned to carry out works to restore the local water supply system within three days, establishing coordination among the federal, provincial and local governments, and the technical agencies.

He said that the government was sensitive towards the problems of the local people, stressing on the need of sustainable infrastructures and long-term plans to prevent recurrence of such disasters in the future.

Minister Yadav was accompanied by lawmaker from Lalitpur constituency 1, Udaya Shumsher Rana, Chief of the Lalitpur District Coordination Committee, Rishidev Phuyal, Mayor of Godavari Municipality  Gajendra Maharjan, Deputy Mayor Muna Adhikari and the KUKL, the Department and the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management officials during the observation of the damaged water supply projects. 

Mustang district recorded the transaction of Himalayan goats and sheep, earning Rs 160 million during the Dashain festival.

Veterinary Hospital and Livestock Service Center in Mustang informed that 4,800 Himalayan goats reared by the farmers in Mustang and 3,000 others brought from Dolpa and Mugu districts were sold in the district.

Center's chief Lal Mani Aryal informed that 7,500 chyangra (Himalayan goats) and 500 sheep were sold in the district. The Mustang farmers sold each Himalayan goat at a price ranging from Rs 28,000 to Rs 38,000 considering the weight.

Last year, as many as 7,000 Himalayan goats and sheep were sold in the district. The Mustang goats were bought by the people from Myagdi, Baglung, Parbat, Kaski and Kathmandu city.

The traders have been happy to see a rise in production of Himalayan goats and sheep that fetched better prices compared to the past.

Arjun Paudel from Beni of Myagdi informed that the goats reared in the highlands are considered healthy and nutritious, as they graze in the pasture having medicinal herbs. Chyangra and sheep are consumed more during the festivals as Dashain and Tihar. The Himalayan goat reaches a slaughter age when it is three-year-old.

Gharapjhong, Loghekar Damodarkunda, Baragung Muktichhetra and Lomanthang are some places famous for chyangra. It is the major source of income for the farmers here.

National Assembly Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal has said development in science and technology had spurred innovation, making human life easier and dynamic.

Addressing the 149th general assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva on Monday, Chairman Dahal underlined the need for formulating and implementing the laws that ensure everyone's equal access to technology and its benefits.

Transformative capacity of States is essential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals launched in 2015.

He expressed worry over the widening gap among the countries in the access to and capacity relating to information technology. "Still, over two billion people are deprived of information. Collective efforts are imperative to cope with the challenges posed by inequality. All people need to be guaranteed equal access to IT and innovation," Dahal underscored.

According to him, world Parliaments which devise laws, could play effective roles to resolve the problems surfaced in the wake of expansion of IT like privacy breach, cyber threat, and spread of propaganda.

For the relatively backward countries, international assistance and cooperation are required to develop and expand IT, research, resource mobilization and youth engagement.

Exchange of best practices of the Parliaments on science and technology across the world could be useful to bridge gaps between the developed and developing countries, he hoped.

He appreciated the Union's initiative to incorporate artificial intelligence in its action plan by forming a taskforce on science and technology.

"The Union is a significant forum to debate that help cope with worlds' burning problems like climate change, natural disaster, geopolitical tension, poverty and inequality," Dahal observed.

The country is now in post monsoon. The retreat of the monsoon has brought cold.

The meteorologists have suggested precautions to avoid the cold. After the rainfall on September 27 and 28, the weather improved significantly in the country. The monsoon exited fully two days back.

With the clear sky, it feels cold in the morning and evening now. The federal capital, Kathmandu, is getting increasingly cold for a week, according to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.

Meteorologist Sanjiv Adhikari said the minimum temperature in Kathmandu was recorded at 20 degree Celsius on October 1, which is down to 16 degree Celsius at present. "We're feeling increasingly cold in Kathmandu. It is in decline for two weeks," he added.

On Sunday, the Kathmandu Valley's temperature was at 14.7 degree Celsius while it was 16 degree Celsius on Monday.

Not only the federal capital but also other parts saw fall in mercury. As the temperature is declining, people need to maintain precaution, Adhikari suggested.

There is a general weather impact of westerly wind in Lumbini, Sudurpaschim, Karnali and Gandaki Provinces while the partial impact is a blend of westerly and local winds in Koshi, Madhesh and Bagmati provinces, the Weather Forecasting Division said.

Despite partial weather changes in hilly regions of Koshi, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces, the weather will be clear today.

Goats, sheep and buffaloes worth more than Rs 160 million were sold during the Dashain time alone in Jumla this year.

Bir Bahadur Rawal, Chief of the Chandannath Municipality, Livestock Development Section, said goats, sheep and buffaloes worth Rs 163. 21 million were sold from Khalanga town alone during the Dashain period this year.

The sale of goats, sheep, buffaloes and fowls is generally high during the Dashain festival period as people sacrifice these animals at goddess shrines, and meat consumption also increases due to the festivities.

According to Rawal, 7, 928 sheep and goats supplied by the sheep farmers within the district itself and those imported from other districts were sold. Sheep worth Rs 152.32 million, goats worth Rs 7. 79 million and buffaloes worth Rs 3.11 million have been sold. 

The maximum price of local sheep was determined at Rs 28, 000, the minimum price at Rs 10, 000 and the average price at Rs 19, 000.

Similarly, the maximum price of local goat was fixed at Rs 24, 000, the minimum price at Rs 8,000 and the average price at Rs 16, 000. The maximum price of buffalo is determined at Rs 50, 000, the minimum price at Rs 26, 000 and the average price at Rs 38, 000. 

Only the local goats and sheep are sold in Jumla ever since livestock traders stopped importing goats and sheep from Tibet 12 years back.

The Livestock Service Office Jumla said 88, 000 sheep are being reared in the district.