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As part of Bibaha Panchami, a Mithila cultural festival, the marriage procession left for Janakpur via Jaleshwar from Matihani in Mahottari this morning.

It is an old tradition whereby holy men and women come to Janakpur from Ayodhya during the Ramjanaki marriage festival. In addition to Ayodhya, saints from different parts of India come to attend the festival.

As per the schedule, it was customary to reach Matihani on the first night, Jaleshwar on the second night, Sahodwa in Mahottari on the third night and Janakpur on the fourth day. Baidyanath Chowdhury,65, of Banauli village of Pipra rural municipality said that it is a tradition for the local people to welcome in the incoming guests with good deeds to the places determined for lunch and dinner.

Meanwhile, residents of the pilgrimage route area (Matihani-Jaleshwar-Pipra-Janakpur) say that the attraction of the fair festival is decreasing and a limited number of saints and pilgrims come these days.

Ramjanaki festival, which is celebrated throughout the week in Janakpurdham, is celebrated to commemorate the marriage of Shriram, son of Ayodhya King Dasharath, and Sita, daughter of King Janak of Mithila.

On the main day of the festival, Swayambar ceremony is held in Janakpurdham.

Manoj Jha, Professor of Maithili Language and Literature at Yajnavalkya Lakshminarayan Vidyapith in Matihani, says that according to Maithil traditions the participants will be entertained with the normal rituals of a marriage ceremony.

Kameshwar Jha, an expert on Maithil culture and traditions, suggests that the new generation of Maithil youth should take the lead for maintaining the glory of this ancient festival.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has started confiscating tobacco products from shops, a day after imposing a blanket ban on the storage, sale, distribution and use of such products. On Thursday, it raided shops in the metropolis, seizing betel quid, gutkha, cigarettes and other chewing tobacco products. KMC has warned that it will shut shops violating the ban.

Acting chief of the Metropolitan Police, SP Bishnu Joshi, informed that they seized two sackfuls of tobacco products from Balaju area, two bagfuls from the Jadibuti-Koteshwar area and three sackfuls from other places in the Kathmandu valley on Thursday.

The metropolis has mobilized five teams comprising 10 people each to keep a tab on selling tobacco products along with police personnel in plainclothes.

“For up to two instances of violation of the ban, tobacco products will be confiscated from the shops in question. The third instance of violation will lead to the shop’s closure,” said SP Joshi.

KMC had published a 15-day notice on Nov 28 announcing a ban on public consumption, sale and storage of all types of tobacco products, including raw tobacco and gutkha, in accordance with the Tobacco Control and Regulation Act, 2011.

Section 11 (4) of the Act states that the government of Nepal may prohibit the retail sales and distribution of cigarettes, quid of tobacco (Bidi) or cigar sticks by publishing a notice in the Nepal Gazette.

KMC has banned the sale of cigarettes and smoking at a perimeter of 100 meters around public places, slapping a fine of up to Rs 100 on each violation. 

Meanwhile, KMC has also requested citizens to use KMC Police Force’s hotline 18105000060 or telephone numbers 01-5901763/01-5901764 to inform them about the violation of the ban.

A five-year-old girl has been murdered after rape in Dhanusha.

According to a preliminary investigation, the girl of Kushamaha-5, Sabaila Municipality-9 of the district was raped and later strangled to death.

The District Police Office, Dhanush said that the girl’s body was found in a pit at around 8 pm on Thursday.

The parents of the girl informed the police after she, who had gone with a neighbor of the village on a motorbike, did not return home till 9 pm on Wednesday.

Later, a police team deployed from the District Police Office, Dhanusha started searching for the girl and found her body at Sabaila Municipality-9 on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, police have arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in the incident.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Two persons died and another sustained injuries when a motorbike they were riding on met with an accident in Dhanusha on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Bharat Sahani (25) of Kamala Municipality-8 and Bijay Kumar Sahani (30) of Bideha Municipality-1 of Dhanusha, DSP Ranjan Awa, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Dhanusha, said.

DSP Awa said that Satrughan Sahani of Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan City-12 was injured in the incident.

He has been taken to the Kathmandu-based Neuro Hospital for further treatment.

The incident occurred when the two-wheeler (Pradesh 2-02-002 Pa 4092) heading towards Dhalewar from Janakpurdham went out of control at Sapahi in Laxminiya Rural Municipality-4 at around 3 am today.

Police said that they are looking into the case.