Nepal PM Deuba Sher Bahadur visits Varanasi, offers prayers at Kaal Bhairav, Kashi Vishwanath temples along with UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Deuba, who was accompanied by his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, performed `rudrabhishek` at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

New Delhi: Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba arrived in Varanasi on Sunday (April 3, 2022) and offered prayers at the famous Kal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath temples along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 

Deuba, who was accompanied by his wife Arzu Rana Deuba, performed 'rudrabhishek' -- a ritual to offer prayers to Lord Shiva -- at the Kashi Vishwanath temple and also watched a short-film showing the history of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

Schoolchildren holding Indian and Nepalese flags greeted the prime minister at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport in Varanasi in the morning. Amidst the showering of flower petals and beats of 'Damru', various artistes performed traditional dances to welcome the Nepalese PM.

The high-profile guests were greeted with cultural programmes, including various dance forms, at 15 places on the road from the airport to the Taj Hotel.

Deuba arrived in New Delhi on Friday in his first bilateral visit abroad after becoming prime minister for the fifth time in July 2021.

Earlier on Saturday, Deuba met his Prime Minister Narendra Modi and inaugurated the Himalayan nation`s only railway link with its southern neighbour on Saturday in a summit meant to deepen relations.

After the meeting, Deuba and Modi jointly flagged off Nepal`s only railway link between Janakpur in Nepal and the border town of Jaynagar in India.

The 35-km (22-mile) railway was reconstructed by India as a grant. It was built by the colonial British Indian government as a narrow-gauge line to transport logs from Nepal.

The two prime ministers also remotely inaugurated an electricity transmission line that will supply hydroelectric power generated in the Solukhumbu area, where Mount Everest is located, to Nepal`s national power grid.

Both countries agreed to speed up the Pancheswar hydroelectric project on their border in west Nepal, which Modi said would be a "game-changer" for the development of the region.

Deuba said Nepal`s ties with India were "highly important" and Kathmandu was "eager to benefit from India`s progress through a mutually beneficial economic partnership."

Nepal agreed to use the Indian RuPay card which would strengthen "financial connectivity," and promote Indian tourist flows, India said in a statement.

Both sides also signed agreements that include cooperation in railways and sharing technical expertise between the Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation.

(With agency inputs)