Tight security for Ambubashi Fair at Kamakhya Temple

Tight security arrangements have been made at the famous Kamakhya Temple here near Guwahati in Assam for the three-day Ambubashi fair that is to last till Tuesday.

Guwahati, June 23 : Tight security arrangements have been made at the famous Kamakhya Temple here near Guwahati in Assam for the three-day Ambubashi fair that is to last till Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of devotees from across the country are likely to visit the temple everyday during the festivities.

A big number of devotees have arrived here for the Ambubashi Mela (fair)."I have heard a lot about the fair that the temple of Goddess Kamakhya is very good. So I have come here. People from my native place come here and I felt very good when I heard about this temple from them. So I have come here and feeling very good. All facilities are available here," said Kamath Dhar, devotee from Car Nicobar.

It is a common belief that the reigning deity, Maa Kamakhya or (Mother Shakti) goes through her cycle of menstruation every year on the seventh day of the Assamese month of Aahar, which usually falls in the month of June-July.

Consequently, during Ambubashi, the doors of the Kamakhya temple remain closed for three days.

It is expected that more than 600,000 devotees will be visit here top participate in the Ambubashi Mela.

In December (2007), security was strengthened at the famous Shakti Shrine Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati after a militant threat.

The threat was received, following an alert received after a suspected Pakistani secret agency ISI's operative Mojibullah Alam alias Asfi Alam was nabbed in Guwahati, where the temple is located.

A number of separatist outfits including the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) are active in the State.

Assam is one of seven states in northeast, a region racked by a number of insurgencies. Over 15,000 people have been killed since ULFA launched the revolt in 1979 in Assam.

ANI