Nation View: Bloody tradition- Champawat residents pelt stones to celebrate Bagwal festival

In a decades-old bloody tradition, hundreds of people Uttarakhand’s Champawat pelted each other with stones on Rakhi to celebrate the Bagwal festival. According to the myth, locals pelt stones on each other to please Goddess Barahi. It is believed bloodshed during the festival brings good luck. Given the risks involved, the Champawat administration, 550 km from Dehradun, has been pressing to replace stones with fruit for the last four years, but in vain.