KATHMANDU: On the occasion of the Maha Shivaratri, more than 700,000 devotees paid homage to Pashupathinath shrine till late evening on Friday despite the rain that occurred this evening.

The Pashupati Area Development Trust said that devotees are offering worship to Lord Shiva till late evening, which was started from 3:00 am by opening all four doors of the Pashupatinath Temple.

An official at the Trust, Gaurishankar Parajuli, told the RSS that nearly 1 million visitors are expected to offer their pooja as the provisions have been made for paying homage to the Lord Shiva the whole night today.

The Trust said that arrangements were made with the best efforts to ensure safety and other services to the devotees who have thronged the holy shrine from early morning on Friday on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri.

Likewise, the Police Circle based at Gaushala said that no untoward incident was reported in the holy shrine area.
233 people missing in Pashupati area found and repatriated

Meanwhile, the Nepal Police found 233 people who went missing in the sea of devotees at the Pashupatinath area today and handed them over to their relatives.

They were traced by the Lost and Found Cell operated by the Police for the convenience of the devotees coming to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva at the Pashupatinath Temple on the occasion of Maha Shivaratri Festival today.