Kamakhya temple in Guwahati's Nilachal Hills will remain shut till June 30.
The famous Kamakhya temple in Guwahati's Nilachal Hills will remain shut till June 30, the temple's administration has said. The centre and the Assam government have, however, allowed places of worship to reopen from June 8 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The temple management committee said it has decided not to open the temple for public worship till June 30 due to a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Assam.
Since the temple will remain shut, the annual Ambubachi Mela won't be held this year for the first time in the temple's history since the 17th century, the management committee said.
This year the annual fair was scheduled to start on June 22. Last year, it saw a footfall of an estimated 20 lakh devotees from India and abroad.
The temple management committee said only rituals will be performed during the days the temple is shut. The management shut down the temple on March 20 after the COVID-19 alert was sounded in Assam.
Assam reported 29 new cases of coronavirus on Monday; 92 people recovered from the highly infectious disease on a single day, taking the number of recoveries higher than infections.
The total cases in the state are 1,390.