AGARTALA, Nov 11: Tripura chief minister Manik Saha will
inaugurate a three-day Diwali festival at Tripureswari temple,
one of the 51 Shakti Peeths at Udaipur in Gomati district on
Sunday.
Security arrangement has been beefed up in and around the
700-year-old temple to ensure peaceful celebrations of the
festival of light.
State finance minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Tourism Minister
Sushanta Chowdhury and Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash
Debbarma will also be present at the inaugural function.
The temple will open at 4.30 am on Sunday and the priests
will perform the Chandi path, one of the rituals of
worshipping.
“The Tripura Sundari deity will be adorned with special
ornaments on the occasion of Diwali. The puja will start at 10
am on Sunday as usual. A special puja will be organised in
the evening,” said Chandan Chakraborty, head priest of the
temple.
The temple will remain open through Sunday night but it will
be closed at 11 pm on Monday and Tuesday, he said.
“The fair surrounding the temple will continue as per the
schedule. All arrangements have been made to celebrate
Diwali with pomp and gaiety,” he said.
This year, the puja rituals will be live-streamed on giant
screens for devotees on Sunday and Monday, local MLA
Abhishek Debroy, who is the chairman of the fair committee
told PTI.
“We hope the gatherings will cross all previous records this
year,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police have taken steps to enforce the use of
only green crackers during the festivities, following advice
from the Tripura State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB).
“Only green crackers are allowed to be used during Diwali
festival. We will take action if anybody is found using banned
firecrackers this time”, Superintendent of Police (West) Kiran
Kumar said. (PTI)
