Hindu devotees across the country marked the main day of the Chhath festival on Sunday by offering prayers to the Sun god for its invaluable role in sustaining life on earth. Devotees observed the festival by offering to the setting sun from riverbanks and ponds.

Chhath festival is celebrated from Chaturthi till Saptami in the month Nepali month of Kartik. The festival concludes on Monday, with the worshipping of the rising sun.

Tents and stalls, with colourful decorations, were set up in several riverbanks and ponds, where devotees gathered to offer prayers to the sun god by offering fruits and delicacies like Thekuwa and Bhusan.

 During the festival, devotees, mostly women, observe a strict fast for welfare and well-being of their family members.

The Chhath festival, which used to be mainly observed in the Tarai districts until some years back, is gradually becoming popular in hill districts, including Kathmandu, as well.

Around 40,000 people from various districts of inner Tarai, including Makwanpur, celebrated the festival this year. Ajaya Kumar Baniya, the coordinator of Chhathpuja Samaroha Samiti, said that the festival has connected people of both Tarai and hill districts. “The festival has developed as a common festival now,” he said.

Raju Raya, the chairman of Chhath Management Committee in Itahari, Sunsari, said more than 20,000 people observed the festival in Budhiganga alone.

In Janakpur, thousands of people gathered at Gangasagar, Dhanushasagar, Angarajsar, Maharajsar, Jalad and Dhudhmati rivers to observe the festival.

Chhath was also celebrated in Dhanusha, Mahottari, Saptari, Siraha, Chitwan, Bara, Parsa, Morang and other districts in the Tarai.

In Kathmandu also, the festival was observed at various sites.

President Bidhya Devi Bhandari also celebrated the festival by offering prayer to the sun god at Guheshwori and Kamalpokhari in Kathmandu.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal also visited Kamalpokhari and participated in a Chhath prayer ceremony.