Nepal traffic police herd Kathmandu’s holy cows 尼泊爾交通警察驅趕加德滿都聖牛

Nepal traffic police herd Kathmandu’s holy cows
尼泊爾交通警察驅趕加德滿都聖牛
2013-04-09◎陳維真

Police in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu have launched a campaign to round up cows roaming the streets, blaming the sacred animals for car accidents and traffic jams.
尼泊爾首都加德滿都警方已展開行動，圍捕在街上漫步的牛隻，怪罪這些聖牛釀成車禍和交通阻塞。

"The stray cows and oxen have been a big nuisance in Kathmandu streets. They not only cause accidents, but also make the streets untidy," Pawan Giri, spokesman for the Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police, told AFP.
加德滿都都會區交通警察局發言人吉里對法新社表示：「走失的母牛和公牛造成很大麻煩。不僅會造成意外，也弄髒街道 。」

"We see traffic jams because the drivers who try to avoid the cows often crash into other vehicles."
「我們常見到駕駛人為了避開牛隻撞到其他車輛，因此造成交通阻塞。」

He said the captured animals would be detained until their owners paid a fine of approximately $60 for their release.
他說，捕獲的牛隻將被扣留，直到牠們的主人支付約60美元罰金，才會釋放。

Cows are a regular sight in the smog-choked capital and are often found eating from piles of garbage on the roadside.
在煙霧瀰漫的加德滿都街道上常可見到牛隻，牠們經常在路邊成堆垃圾中覓食。

Regarded as an incarnation of the Hindu Goddess of prosperity Laxmi, the beasts are treated as sacred in Nepal, where the majority of the population is Hindu.
印度教相信牛是富裕女神拉克希米的化身。尼泊爾人大多數為印度教徒，因此牛在尼泊爾有神聖地位。

During the annual Tihar festival in the autumn, Hindus spend a day worshipping them by offering food and gifts.
每年秋天的提哈節，印度教徒會花一整天的時間獻上食物和禮物崇拜牛。

Cow slaughter remains illegal in Nepal and can carry a prison sentence of up to 12 years. （AFP）
在尼泊爾，殺牛仍是非法行為，最多會被判處12年徒刑。（法新社）

新聞辭典

round up：片語，圍捕。例句：The police rounded up a few suspects of the murder case. （警方圍捕謀殺案的幾個嫌疑犯。）

nuisance：名詞，討厭的人（或事物）； 麻煩事。例句：My ex-boyfriend keeps bugging me. He’s such a nuisance.（前男友老是煩我，討厭死了。）

incarnation： 名詞，典型、化身。 Rama was Vishnu’s incarnation on earth. （羅摩是毗濕奴在塵世的化身。）