GUWAHATI, June 24: Be it historic Mekhela Ujuwa Path or the motorable road to Kamakhya, what’s seen today was lakhs of devotees elbowing their ways to the temple premises.
The Mekhela Ujuwa Path had its me from the folk belief that women clad in mekhala-chador had to hitch their lower garments a little to climb Nilachal Hill through the steep steps.
With the increase in facilities and public utilities there is a sharp increase in the number of footfall of pilgrims. According to official records, till now at least a million footfalls have been recorded from June 15.
Besides domestic pilgrims, a good number of intertiol pilgrims are also seen thronging the temple complex. The domestic pilgrims are mainly from West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pardesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pardesh, Punjab and Harya.
Pilgrims from Assam and various other north-eastern states are also visiting the dham. Pilgrims widely expressed their appreciations and satisfactions over the arrangements by the district administration.
“We have eight camps and at any moment at least 30,000 to 40,000 people are staying with full-fledged inbuilt boarding and lodge facilities. A good number of NGOs, private institutions etc., are also participating in the mela with their voluntary services,” sources in the district administration said.
An excellent crowd magement, effective disaster magement protocol, volunteers’ magement plan, circular transportation facilities, lighting and illumition of entire Nilachal complex is considered as a positive impact and pilgrims are appreciative of it, the administration claims, adding that 1098 childline services to trace missing children is also considered as an effective mechanism by the visitors.
Special care has been taken to handle elderly pilgrims, physically challenged, women and children with a comprehensive network of ferry transport services and reception facilities. Civil defense volunteers, SCOUTS AND GUIDES, NCC, garik committee members are also participating in the crowd magement plan.
Eco-friendly dustbins, continuous cleaning and clearing of garbage, uninterrupted power and water supply by the GMC made a clean and positive impact among the visitors, the district administration claims.