Police in Nepal used tear gas and water cannon on Thursday to break up a religious rally that defied a government ban on public gatherings imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the ban, about 2,000 residents poured into a major thoroughfare of Lalitpur, near Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, to pull a chariot of the rain god, Rato Machhindranath, a ritual that has been celebrated for countless generations. Authorities imposed temporary curbs in Kathmandu and surrounding areas in August to help contain coronavirus contagion and asked residents to observe festivals at home.
