GUWAHATI: The management committee of Maa Kamakhya Devalaya has, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, decided not to hold the annual Ambubachi Mela in June this year.
“Only traditional rituals associated with the festival will be performed. Pilgrims will not be allowed to visit the Kamakhya temple or stay on the temple premises,” a statement by the temple management committee issued here on Thursday, said.
The committee has also notified residents of the areas near the temple atop Nilachal Hills not to let out their houses for the festival to visitors and pilgrims.
The four-day Ambubachi Mela held every year at the shakti peeth from June 22 witnesses a footfall of several lakh pilgrims and visitors from across the country, mainly from states such as West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and overseas.
The festival marks the annual menstruation cycle of Goddess Kamakhya.
“As far as we know, this is for the first time that a decision not to hold the annual fair has been taken. But this has been a tough decision and taken only because the situation demands prohibition of mass congregation. Last year, the festival witnessed 25 lakh visitors during the festival. So the committee and the people in the nearby areas hinge immensely on this annual fair to fulfill their economic needs,” Mohit Sarma, head priest of the temple told The Shillong Times on Thursday.
As it is, the temple management committee had decided to close the doors of the shrine from March 20 owing to the outbreak of COVID-19. “We have been adhering to the guidelines and only the prescribed number of priests has been on duty at the temple since then,” Sarma said.
Apart from being one of the largest religious congregations in the country, the festival occupies a significant slot in the annual tourism calendar of Assam.