Kathmandu Kalinga Lit Fest postponed in view of prevailing situation

Bhubaneswar: The 4th Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival was postponed in view of the prevailing situation in the Nepalese capital, its organisers announced on Tuesday.

Violent protests by youths in Kathmandu and a few other places against a government ban on social media sites on Monday left at least 19 people dead and over 300 others injured.

The event was scheduled to take place on September 13 and 14 in Kathmandu, the organisers said.

Over 60 Indian and 200 Nepali writers, including Banu Mushtaq, Deepa Bhasthi and Basudev Tripathi, were supposed to join the festival, they said.

Kalinga Literary Festival director Rashmi Ranjan Parida said the event will now be held on February 14 and 15, 2026.

The decision to postpone was taken in view of the violence in Kathmandu over the ban on social media sites, a statement issued by the Bhubaneswar-based organisers said.

It would be neither appropriate nor respectful to proceed with the festival at this time, it said.