By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept 11: From this year, Indra Jatra, the age-old festival of Kathmandu, will be known to the world, said Mayor of Kathmandu metropolis Bidhya Sundar Shakya on Wednesday.
Speaking at a press meet today, Mayor Shakya said as the Visit Nepal Year-2020 was about to come, this event was a part of introducing Nepal’s tangible and intangible heritage of Kathmandu to the world.
As many as 48 representatives of 13 sister cities from USA, China, India, Japan, Bangladesh and Bhutan are joining the eight-day festival at the invitation of the metropolis. All the guests will arrive in Kathmandu on Thursday, he said.
The festival will get international value from this year, said Shakya, adding that inviting international guests was not an expenditure of the metropolis, but an investment in tourism sector.
“Confusion may arise if we fail to differentiate between the expenditure and investment. This move of the metropolis will help in making the festival known internationally,” he said.
Mayor Shakya said the guests would spend four nights and five days in Kathmandu. “All the guests will bear their expenses until they arrive in Kathmandu. Once they land here, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) will manage their expenses.”
According to Shakya, the delegations were scheduled to visit Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Chandragiri area in collaboration with the respective municipals.
“Integrated tourism promotion campaign will be beneficial for overall tourism development of the Kathmandu Valley. Considering this fact, the KMC has decided to take the foreign delegation to the important heritage sites of the valley.”
As per the schedule, the delegation will observe Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square area from where the procession of chariot carrying Kumari, the living goddess, will begin.