Uttarakhand 'Bagwal' stone-pelting festival held in low-key manner

    Pithoragarh, Aug 22 (PTI) The 'Bagwal' festival, in which devotees traditionally pelt stones at each other, was held in a low-key affair at the Devidhura temple in Uttarakhand's Champawat district on Sunday due to COVID-19 restrictions.
    The festival sees devotees divided into four clans, hurling stones at each other to please the deity. It was held for just seven minutes, Khim Singh Lamharia,  chairperson of the Devidhura temple committee said.
    But even in that short span of time, 77 out of a total of 300 devotees sustained injuries, he said.
    The festival is held every year as a ritual to please the goddess.
    As a precaution due to COVID-19, nobody from the administration took part in the festival, and no guests were invited from outside, Lamharia said.
    "Bagwal was played with flowers and local fruits. A total of 1,250 local people witnessed it," he added. PTI COR ALM IJT

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)