Agartala, Nov 7 (IANS) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha will inaugurate a three-day Diwali festival at the historic 525-year-old Maa Tripura Sundari Temple in Gomati district on Sunday, officials said on Saturday.
The famous temple, located at Udaipur and regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peeths, was built in 1501 by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya.
Local MLA Abhishek Debroy and Gomati District Magistrate Rinku Lather said all arrangements for the annual festival had been completed.
A Bhajan Sandhya and a drone show are among the major attractions scheduled for the inaugural day.
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been put in place to manage the expected rush of devotees and visitors.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Manchak Ipper and Anirban Das inspected the fairground and reviewed police deployment, traffic management, crowd control and emergency response measures.
The district police chief monitoring the security aspects on a round-the-clock basis.
As part of the security measures, the district administration has imposed a no-fly zone within a five-km radius of the temple from November 8 to 10.
The restriction prohibits the operation of drones, manned and unmanned aircraft, and other aerial objects during the festival.
However, aerial devices specifically authorised for use at the Diwali Mela have been exempted from the order.
Meanwhile, fulfilling a long-awaited public demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 22 last year inaugurated the redeveloped Mata Tripura Sundari temple and offered prayers at the Kali temple.
A senior official of the Tourism Department said that under the PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme of the Union Tourism Ministry, the 525-year-old Tripura Sundari temple has been redeveloped at a cost of more than Rs 54 crore.
The Central government provided Rs 34.43 crore, while the Tripura government contributed Rs 17.61 crore towards the project.
The temple, built in 1501 by the state’s erstwhile king Maharaja Dhanya Manikya in Udaipur, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country and the third such shrine in eastern India after the Kali temple in Kolkata’s Kalighat and the Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.
After 517 years of monarchy, on October 15, 1949, the erstwhile princely state of Tripura merged with the Indian Union following an agreement signed between Kanchan Prabha Devi, the then regent Maharani, and the Governor-General of India.
–IANS
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