Assam: Ambubachi Mela 2022 kicks off, 10 Lakh Pilgrims Expected

Guwahati: Ambubachi Mela, one of the largest religious gatherings of devotees in the famous Shaktipeeth Kamakhya temple, kicked off on Wednesday.

The Kamrup (Metro) District Administration expects around 10 lakh devotees to throng the Mela at Guwahati's famous Kamakhya Temple.

Several devotees, sages, saints, and tantriks come from far to attend it and this year the fair will run from June 22 to June 26.

The doors of the temple will be closed on 22nd June and then on 26th June, the doors of the temple will be opened.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kamrup Metropolitan Department, Pallav Gopal Jha, has said that around 500 CCTV cameras have been installed in and around the Kamakhya Devalaya in Guwahati ahead of Ambubachi Mela 2022.

During a press conference that took place in Guwahati on June 20, the DC informed that several guidelines regarding the celebration of Ambubachi have been issued.

In addition to this, three temporary camps have been set up at Kamakhya station, Old Jail Campus, and Pandu Port.

''Apart from GMC employees, an additional 750 workers have been appointed by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) in the above-mentioned camps,'' the DC added.

However, the Ambubachi Mela will not be celebrated in an extravagant manner and will instead be a low-key affair this year owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pilgrims will not be permitted to take vehicles beyond the main entrance of the Kamakhya temple.

The Ambubachi Mela is held annually during the monsoon in the Kamakhya Devi Temple in Guwahati, Assam. This is a time when the river Brahmaputra may be called 'mighty' in the actual sense.

The celebration is said to acknowledge the yearly menstruation course of the Goddess Kamakhya, or celebration of feminity in the real sense of the term.

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