Kyaiktiyo Pagoda to hold Buddha Pujaniya Festival for 7 months

September 30

 

The Buddha Pujaniya Festival of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda will be held for seven months from 9 October 2022 (Full Moon Day of Thadingyut) to 3 May 2023 (Full Moon Day of Kason), said the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda Trustees Board.

 

The Pagoda’s Buddha Pujaniya Festival could not be held in 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the pagoda re-opened this year.

 

“There were pilgrims on the pagoda although there was no festival. A lot of preparations are being made for this year’s festival,” said Ko Maung Htwe, a shopkeeper from Bago to the GNLM.

 

To prevent and control the COVID-19 disease, face masks will be handed out to pilgrims free of charge and visitors’ body temperatures will be checked before they terrace the square of Pagoda following the health rules issued by the Ministry of Health. The clinic on the pagoda platform will provide medical care if necessary.

 

The Kyaiktiyo Pagoda Trustees Board will provide the pilgrims free accommodation in the Pyaezone Community Hall and 9,000 Oil Lamp Community Hall. There will be restaurants and souvenir shops at the Pagoda’s base station and on the Pagoda’s terrace.

 

According to the board of trustees of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, 7,480 pilgrims from home and 97 abroad visited the pagoda in June and July 2022. — TWA/GNLM