Birbhum, 22 August (H.S.): A huge crowd of devotees is expected to gather on the occasion of Kaushiki Amavasya at Tarapith, the famous Shaktipeeth of West Bengal. The temple committee estimates that about four to five lakh people may reach for darshan this year. Keeping this in mind, the district administration has made extensive preparations for security and crowd control.

According to official information, about one thousand policemen, seventeen hundred civic volunteers and about three hundred state police officers have been deployed in the temple premises and surrounding areas. Along with this, one hundred and seventy five private security guards have also been engaged in the security system. A total of thirty-seven drop gates have been built to control the crowd and traffic, while ten temporary watch towers have been erected for surveillance. More than two hundred CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire area and metal detector gates have been installed at the main entrances.

Kaushiki Amavasya has special religious significance in Tarapith. It is believed that on this very night, Sadhak Bamdev had a vision of Mata Tara under the Shwetshimul tree of Mahasmshan. On this occasion, Sadhaks and devotees from all over the country reach here and special tantric rituals and yagnas are performed in Mahasmshan.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey