Kamakhya Temple in Assam to be renovated
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=476027 SUKHENDU BHATTACHARYA, GUWAHATI, MAY 11 (PTI) The Assam government and a leading corporate giant have finalised plans to renovate the world famous Kamakhya Temple, the centre of the Shakti and Tantrik cult. Poor maintenance often leads to inconvenience and harassment to thousands of pilgrims who throng the temple every year. This could, however be a thing of the past with the government chalking out an action plan to give the temple a facelift. Assam Tourism Secretary Sunanda Sengupta says the government has firmed up plans to develop this seat of the mystique tantra cult which is also regarded in religious texts as the seat of the "Shakti Pith". "Kamakhya has all the ingredients to match other famous religous places of the country and the government has taken up plans to develop it which would also help fetch more revenue", she said. "To begin with the government has approved a ropeway to the Kamakhya and Bhubaneswari temple, situated atop the picturesque Neelachal Hills overlooking the mighty river Brahmaputra", Sengupta said. The ropeway, Sengupta said, would be an added attraction for the tourist visiting the city, she said. Though funds from the central government were still meagre, the state's tourism budget was also not much but even then the state government has decided to implement a special package, she said. The package includes lighting of the entire temple and construction of a "Yatri Nivas" for the pilgrims which will be completed by this month end, the official said. The government is also focussing strongly on the yet undiscovered religious circuit in the state, which is home to the three major Hindu cults-- Tantrik Shaktism, Saivism and Vaishnavism-- and also Islam and Buddhism. To supplement the government's effort is the Dharampal and Satyapal, a corporate group which has come forward to work with the government to develop the temple. The company plans to undertake construction of a dome infront of the Ganesh Mandir at the entrance of the holy pond, a company's spokesman said. There is also a plan to construct a "Sitala" mandir on the left side of the main temple and construction of a wall around the holy pond to keep it clean (as all pilgrims first go there for a wash before entering the main shrine). Construction of brass railing on the steps leading to the pond and and filtration unit for water filtering of the holy pond is also on the anvil, he said. One of the major project of the company is to construct a museum of tantrik cult and also to provide a place for preservation and safety of precious stone statues of historical significance that are presently lying scattered in the campus and are of the trantrik age, the spokesman said. "This is a part of the company's corporate social responsibility as Maa Kamakhya temple is one of the most important holy places in India and hordes of devotees throng this place every year", he said. The temple is not only important to devotees but also to the tourism industry which considers it as one of the major draws of the area.
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