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The nation is currently experiencing the effects of westerly winds along with a low-pressure system that has developed over the Arabian Sea. 

This afternoon, the hilly regions of Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim Provinces are expected to see generally partly cloudy weather, while the remaining plains will also have partly cloudy skies. 

As per the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, there is a chance of light rain or snow in one or two locations within the high hill and mountain areas across all provinces. 

Furthermore, tonight, predominantly cloudy conditions are anticipated in the remaining hilly regions, including Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali, and Sudurpashchim Provinces, while the other Tarai regions are expected to have partly cloudy weather. 

The weather bulletin released by the department indicates a likelihood of moderate rain or snow in several areas of the hilly and mountain regions of Gandaki and Karnali Provinces, as well as in one or two locations in the other hilly and mountain regions, including Lumbini Province.

Chhath, an important festival of the people of Tarai-Madhes that aims to increase human interest in non-violence and encourage compassion for all living beings, is in full swing. Devotees are busy celebrating Chhath in the districts of Tarai-Madhes, including in the religio-cultural capital of Janakpurdham.

Preparations for Chhath, which is a festival of special hardship for the women of Mithilani, Tharu and Bhojpuri among the main festivals of Tarai-Madhes, are in full swing in the districts of Tarai-Madhes. 

The public is currently busy buying and purchasing the materials required for Chhath, which is a common culture celebrated with rules, integrity and rituals. The general public is busy shopping in the market to buy coconuts, sugarcane, bamboo baskets, nanglo, dhakiya, and clay materials, including coconuts and sugarcane.

This four-day festival of worshipping the Sun, the source of all power, will conclude with a ritual bath on the first day, followed by a ritual offering to the setting sun on the second day, and an offering to the rising sun on the third and rising sun on the fourth day. During the Chhath festival, it is customary to offer fish, meat, garlic, onions, millet, lentils and boiled rice as food items, according to Ram Bharosh Kapadi, president of Madhes Pragya Pratishthan and culture expert. “The purity of the items offered during Chhath has made this festival different from other festivals. In this festival, rice and wheat are carefully examined, washed, dried and ground, not in general, and this special aspect of cleanliness has made this festival different from other festivals,” said cultural expert Kapadi.

This important festival, which has been celebrated among the Madhesi community, has also become popular among the hill communities here for the past few years. Rita Lama of Bardibas says that along with the Mithila women who celebrate Chhath every year, women from the Nepali community have also started celebrating Chhath.

To give grandeur to the Chhath festival, which is mainly celebrated for the purpose of procreation, disease cure and family welfare, dozens of ponds and lakes including the historical Gangasagar, Dhanushsagar, Angrajsar, Maharaj Sagar, Agnikunda, Ratnasagar, Valmiki Sar, Dasharath Talau in Janakpur have been cleaned by various organizations and youth clubs and arrangements have been made for electricity, pandals and other facilities, says Sushal Karna, a youth from Janaki Chowk.

During Chhath, which is celebrated to worship Lord Surya Dev, there is a tradition of offering bananas, sugarcane, a vat, milk, clay elephants and lids as per vows. On the sixth day of the Chhath festival, which is considered the main day of the festival, the devotees who have observed a fast by bathing and washing themselves in the morning have a tradition of offering Argha to the setting sun in the evening by standing in water bodies. In the Tarai-Madhes, this ritual is called the evening Argha or ‘Sazhuka Argha’.

There is a tradition of staying awake all night at a ghat decorated with tents and garlands at water bodies like ponds, wells, lakes and rivers, and offering Argha to the rising sun in the morning on the seventh day. The Argha offered to the rising sun in the morning is called ‘Bhorka Argha’. After offering Argha to the rising sun in this way, Chaiti Chhath is formally completed.

The endangered Kusunda tribe now has only two surviving families. One lives in Gorkha and the other in Tanahun. In Dihi village, Tanahun, 46-year-old Indramaya Kusunda lives with her only daughter on the village’s outskirts. Since the death of her husband, Rajamama Kusunda, in 2018, Indramaya has been struggling to sustain the small family on her own.

To make ends meet, the municipality has employed her as a street sweeper. “A few months after my daughter was born, she fell from the roof,” Indramaya recalls. “I took her to Pokhara for treatment. Five days later, my husband collapsed and never got up again.”

Her daughter has had breathing difficulties ever since. “She gets tired easily, even while studying or helping with chores,” Indramaya says. “We spend around Rs 7,000–8,000 a month on her studies and treatment. But how much can I earn from sweeping streets?” 

In 2004, the National Foundation for the Upliftment of Indigenous Peoples purchased one ropani of land in Dihitar and built a three-room zinc-roofed house for Indramaya’s family. But after two decades, the structure is falling apart. “The roof leaks whenever it rains,” she says. “Last year, I tried patching it with glue, but it didn’t work. I’m afraid one day it will collapse.”

Despite her hardships, she feels abandoned. “After Rajamama’s death, no one came to see how we are doing. Those who once promised help have all disappeared,” she says.

The struggle of Indramaya mirrors the broader existential crisis facing the Kusunda community. The only other Kusunda family lives in Terhakilo, Gorkha Municipality–11. Chet Bahadur Kusunda, the family head, lives there with his wife, two sons, two daughters-in-law, a married daughter, and four grandchildren.

They survive as daily wage laborers and own almost nothing. “After a journalist wrote about us, a neighbor donated three annas of land,” says Chet Bahadur. “We built a small house there, but apart from that, we have nothing, not even enough soil to fill our nails.”

He gestures toward a small cage beside his home. “We keep one or two chickens. If we let them roam, they graze in others’ fields.”

The family’s history is one of displacement and hardship. “We came here from Khoplang 45 years ago,” recalls Chet Bahadur. “I was ten when my father died. After that, my mother took us from one house to another, sometimes renting a room, sometimes working for shelter. There’s hardly a house in this village we haven’t lived in.”

He remembers chasing hope from place to place. “Once, my mother took us to Nawalparasi after hearing that the government would give land to squatters,” he says. “We returned empty-handed. Later, a kind neighbor gave us three annas of land. That’s all we have to this day.”

Now, the small one-story house built under the People’s Housing Program can barely fit his extended family. “There’s no land to build another house,” he says.

According to the 2021 Census of Nepal, there are only 256 Kusunda people left in the country. The two remaining Kusunda families in Gorkha and Tanahun are not just struggling with poverty; they are struggling for existence itself.

Without proper social security, land ownership, or sustained government support, the Kusundas, once a proud, nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe of Nepal’s mid-hills, are slowly vanishing from the country’s cultural and human map.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has called on all parties engaged in peaceful demonstrations to exercise restraint. 

In a statement released today by spokesperson Dr. Tikaram Pokharel, the NHRC urged the government to respond appropriately and promptly to the demands of citizens, to seek solutions to ongoing issues, to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders, and to uphold and safeguard human rights alongside the citizens' right to peaceful protest. 

The Commission stated that it firmly believes that solutions to issues can only be achieved through dialogue and discussion and every problem must be addressed peacefully, adhering to the rule of law, the Constitution, legal frameworks, and the principles of human rights. 

Reflecting on previous incidents, the NHRC noted that even protests deemed peaceful have occasionally escalated into violence, thus urging protesting parties to exercise caution to avert such occurrences in the future. "To maintain peaceful demonstrations, all involved parties must act responsibly, and both the government and protesters share the obligation to prevent any disruptions in upcoming protests," the statement emphasized. 

Stating that ensuring peace during demonstrations required restraint, patience, and wise conduct from security forces, the NHRC additionally  highlighted that protesting groups must also uphold their responsibilities, including maintaining peaceful activities, avoiding hate speech, and refraining from provocative actions. 

Given that it is the state's duty to honor citizens' rights and foster an environment that allows for the exercise of those rights, it is crucial to address the legitimate concerns raised by the Gen-Z generation during the protests on Bhadra 23 and 24 (September 8 and 9), the Commission stated.