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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Thousands of people in Nepal have been offering prayers and flowers today at homes and in temples.
It's a Hindu ritual marking the end of a 13-day mourning period for those killed in the country's massive earthquake. Families and friends also published condolence messages with photos of victims in local newspapers.
The quake killed more than 7,750 people.
The main ceremony was held in the ruins of a temple for which the capital, Kathmandu, was named. Nearly 500 people gathered at the city's historic center, where temples were reduced to rubble, to offer prayers.
More than a thousand engineers are checking damaged houses in the capital, and advising people about whether they are safe.
The country's central bank announced today that people whose homes were damaged in the quake can get loans at a two-percent interest rate.
Meanwhile, a U.N. official says there have been no epidemics in areas hit by the quake, or in camps where homeless people are sheltered.
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142-c-17-(Tim Sullivan, AP correspondent)-"long way there"-AP correspondent Tim Sullivan reports Nepal's government is providing financial help to people who need to rebuild their homes. (7 May 2015)
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APPHOTO DEL144: Nepalese women offer floral tributes to victims killed in last week's earthquake, at Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, May 7, 2015. The April 25 earthquake killed thousands and injured many more as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in Kathmandu. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (7 May 2015)
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APPHOTO DEL125: Nepalese people stand for a minute's silence for victims of last week's earthquake, in front of the destroyed landmark Dharahara tower monument in Kathmandu, Nepal, Thursday, May 7, 2015. The April 25 earthquake killed thousands and injured many more as it flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in Kathmandu. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) (7 May 2015)
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