By Toplal Aryal, Resunga (Gulmi), Sept. 6: Rurukshetra Rural Municipality in Gulmi is set to organise a sacred bath in September by linking four major religious sites, or Dhams, in Nepal.
The rural municipality has mentioned in its policy and programme for the fiscal year 2026/27 that September will be observed as Ruru Sacred Bath Month.
Every year, thousands of devotees gather to take a holy bath in the Kaligandaki River during this month. A five-day Maghi fair is also organised in Rurukshetra at the confluence of Gulmi, Palpa and Syangja districts.
Rurukshetra Rural Municipality Chairman Yadu Gyawali said the municipality was planning to organise the sacred bath and further promote the religious significance of the area by linking it with four Dhams.
The attraction of domestic and foreign tourists to Ridi has increased in recent years. Ruru is located along the Kaligandaki Corridor, which connects India and China, while Nepal’s first three-way bridge and several religious and tourism-related structures have also been constructed in the area.
Chairman Gyawali said the municipality had stepped up local initiatives by giving priority to Ruru, a religious and historical area closely associated with the identity of the municipality, through its policy and programme.
According to Dinesh Gyawali, chief administrative officer of Rurukshetra Rural Municipality, a special programme will soon be organised in the Ruru area after establishing sister-city relations with the local governments representing the four Dhams in Nepal.
The initiative will promote the concept of a Shaligram Path linking Triveni Devghat, Ridi of Rurukshetra, Kagbeni, Muktinath and Damodarkunda.
Similarly, Dinesh Gyawali said the municipality would work in line with its policy and programme to develop Rurukshetra as a national-level religious pilgrimage centre by preserving and promoting the religious significance of Shaligram found in the Kaligandaki River.
He said plans were also in place to promote cooperation and institutional partnerships with the local governments of the four Dhams for pilgrimage management, infrastructure development and improvement of services.
Ridi (Rurukshetra) is a holy pilgrimage site visited throughout the year for bathing and worship. The area is home to the Rishikesh Temple, built by Palpali King Mani Mukunda Sen, as well as the Gayatri Temple, Shiva Temple, Bhimsen Temple, Bhagwati Temple, Hanuman Vatika, Ganesh Bhairav Temple, Satyashwar Temple, Sugandha Bihar, Buddha Stupa, various patis and the Ram Temple.
Similarly, there are several other sites of religious significance, including Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple, Rurukanya Temple, Gulfule Cave, and the statues of Devdatta and Rurukanya, said Ravi Lal Panth, a young businessman from Rurukshetra Rural Municipality-1, Ridi.
The Rising Nepal
