Kathmandu.  No major religious observance will take place in the Taleju Temple of  Bhaktapur this year. The ‘Dashain Puja’ will be carried in its simplest  form just to maintain the age-old tradition and no religious sacrifices will be offered to the Goddess. Only the  priests will be allowed to enter the temple sanctum for  the ‘pujas’. Devotees will be allowed to worship and pay obeisance outside the temple.

Taleju Bhawani Temple sees one of the the largest religious sacrifices made during the Dahain. Every year, the ‘Guthi Sansthan’ offers 6o goats, 31 buffaloes and 30 ducks for sacrifice. “Innumerable birds and animals are offered to the goddess Taleju by the general public,” Mayor of Bhaktapur Municipality Sunil Prajapati told DCNepal. This year, Guthi Sansthan has formally decided not to arrange for the sacrifice of  animals.

Under the chairmanship of Mayor Prajapati, a meeting of the representatives of District Administration Office (DAO) and Metropolitan Police Range, chief of Guthi Sansthan Bhaktapur and  the priests of Taleju Temple, made the decision to have an organized Dasshain Puja at the temple minimizing the health risks brought by COVID-19. The meeting unanimously agreed to make an appeal to the public not to gather in the pretext of  worship and form unruly crowds of revelers.