Kamakhya temple doors open after four days of 'Ambubachi Mela'

Guwahati | The doors of Kamakhya temple atop Nilachal hill were opened to devotees on Thursday after four days of 'Ambubachi Mela', officials said.

The mela is held for four days every year when the temple doors are closed, coinciding with the ritualistic menstrual cycle of Goddess Kamakhya.

The temple doors were closed from Sunday.

"Worshipping in the temple was stopped from 'prabritti' and the doors were opened to devotees again this morning after the 'nibritti," an official said.

The annual Ambubachi Mela at the famed Kamakhya temple commenced on June 22 amidst elaborate security and other arrangements, attracting several lakh visitors, an official of Kamrup Metropolitan district said.

Commenting on the occasion, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a post on X said: "As the doors of Maa Kamakhya open to devotees in Nibritti, which marks the completion of the 4-day #Ambubachi Mahayog, I pray to Maa Kamakhya for the welfare of Bharat." "May Maa Kamakhya bless everyone with abundance and steer the civilization forward. Jai Maa Kamakhya," he added.

The Ambubachi Mela is held in the temple premises during this period and is one of the major tourist events in the state.

During the Ambubachi Mela, no VIP or VVIP movements were allowed at the Kamakhya temple and there was a prohibition on visitors' entry from June 23.

To accommodate the devotees, several camps were set up and the state government worked across different avenues in coordination with 24 departments to ensure smooth conduction of the Mela.

Separate camps were set up for police personnel.

The administration also set up camps for medical facilities with doctors and medicines and there were sufficient ferries for crossing the Brahmaputra river.

Besides police personnel, volunteers, private security guards and others have also been engaged to ensure the mela is held without any problem, officials said