GUWAHATI : With less than a month left for the Ambubachi Mela - the biggest Hindu congregation in this region – that will be held from June 22 to 25, Guwahati gears up to welcome the pilgrims, the number of whom has swelled manifold under the BJP regime.
According to reports, while in the 2015, the last year of Congress’s reign, the pilgrims’ numbers were only five lakhs, it has swelled to 15-20 lakhs in 2016 when BJP came to power. The figures have only gone on to rise the next year touching more than 21 lakhs.
“We are expecting a higher number this year, especially after so much of publicity by the tourism department. We are ready to welcome the pilgrims with the help of the district administration and other government departments. The Ambubachi Mela committee has already been formed,” Mohit Chandra Sarma, the head priest of Kamakhya Temple, said.
On May 5, the district administration had a meeting with different involved departments such State Disaster Response Force, Public Welfare Department and Bordeuri Samaj, the committee that runs the temple.
It was decided in the meeting that five areas in the city – Naharbari, Pandu, Kamakhya Railway Station, Baripara, Tarun Sangha and Guwahati Old Jail – would be sites for pilgrim accommodation besides the areas on the Nilachal Hill.
Ambubachi, the annual congregation, held to celebrate the annual menstrual cycle of Goddess Kamakhya, is considered to be the biggest in eastern India and generally attracts 15 to 20 lakh pilgrims, tantriks and foreign researchers.
“The PWD has been instructed to build the makeshift tents and the temporary toilets for the pilgrims. GMC has been given the charge to maintain cleanliness. The NDRF and SDRF have been deployed for crowd management. The Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has been asked to provide enough buses to connect the pilgrim sites with the temple,” Virendra Mittal, Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup (Metro) said.
Regarding the security arrangements, Guwahati city Police Commissioner, Hiren Chandra Nath said, “More police officials have been deployed this year compared to last year. We have covered the entire Nilachal Hill (on top of which Kamakhya Temple is located) with CCTV surveillance. Traffic police are closely coordinating with the transport department to maintain smooth traffic flow during the Mela days."
Besides, extra Central Reserve Police Force personnel have also been sought.
The Koch Royal Family still side-lined
The Consortium of Koch Royal Families, the descendants of the Naranaryan and his brother Chilarai, who are credited with renovating the Kamakhya Temple in 1565, feel that the government has side-lined their contribution.
Last year, the consortium had asked the government to put a statue of Naranarayan and Chilarai and the history of the temple renovation in front of the temple.
“I don’t know why it is not being done. The Bordeuri Samaj has this time agreed to the proposal of setting the history on a sign board. They also informed that there are already statues, but those have not been properly maintained,” Pranab Narayan Dev, 16th generation of the Koch Royal Family and general secretary of the consortium said.
After the death of King Naranarayan in 1584, the Koch kingdom was divided into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo. Koch Behar, now Cooch Behar in Bengal, was ruled by Naranayan's son Lakshmi Narayan and Koch Hajo, which covers large parts of present-day Assam, was ruled by Chilarai's son Raghu Narayan.
According to archaeologists, the origin of Kamakhya Temple, one of the 51 Shakti Peeths in the country, dates back to the eighth and ninth centuries. Religious literature says the original temple was built by Kamdev with the help of Vishwakarma but it was demolished in the 15th century by Mughal general Kalapahar.
The ruins were discovered by Koch king Viswasingha and he revived the worship of the goddess. His son Naranarayan reconstructed it with the help of his brother and Koch general Chilarai. The temple was, however, rebuilt later.
