Thaindian News

By Sujit Chakraborty
Udaipur (South Tripura), Oct 17 (IANS) It’s festival time in the northeastern state of Tripura, with colourful marquees, illuminated buildings, religious songs and prayers amid beating of drums to celebrate Diwali and Kali Puja. The state government has heightened security, with gun-toting troopers everywhere.

Devotees, tourists and sadhus from Britain, the US, Canada, Australia and Bangladesh besides from across India have already gathered at the 508-year-old Tripura Sundari temple, regarded as one of the 51 ’shakti peeths’ (holy sites) of Hindu pilgrimage in India.

“Two big buffaloes, hundreds of goats and pigeons are to be sacrificed Saturday night in the presence of hundreds and thousands of devotees - all at government expense,” said Subrata Deb, chairperson of the Udaipur municipality.

The Tripura Sundari temple was built by then king Dhanya Manikya in 1501 in south Tripura district headquarter Udaipur and repaired twice by his descendants. On the eastern side of the temple is the famous Kalyan Sagar lake. During Diwali, a large fair is organised in the temple complex, with the government contributing over Rs.3 million.

“The northeastern state of Tripura is the only state in India where the state government is at the forefront of funding such a religious festival. The tradition has been going on since independence and has been on during Left rule in the state,” Panna Lal Roy, a writer and historian, told IANS.

At the end of several hundred years of rule by 184 kings, on Oct 15, 1949, the erstwhile princely state came under the control of the government of India according to a merger agreement signed between Kanchan Prabha Devi, then regent maharani, and the governor general of India.

The merger agreement made it obligatory for the Tripura government to continue the sponsorship of temples run earlier by the rulers and it continues to this day.

Until 1760, the temple town Udaipur, 55 km south of Agartala, was the capital of the then undivided Tripura, which included large parts of Sylhet, Brahmanbaria and Comilla districts of then east Pakistan, now Bangladesh.

“A full-fledged wing - Debarchan Vibhag - under district magistrates in all of Tripura’s four districts now bears this responsibility and the entire expenditure of some temples, including that of Tripura Sundari temple,” Deb told IANS.

Over 5,000 security personnel, including paramilitary forces and quick reaction teams (QRTs), commandoes, bomb disposal and dog squads have been deployed in this temple city to maintain peace during Diwali and Kalipuja Saturday night.

“Counter insurgency operations against the outlawed militants would be intensified by Assam Rifles, CRPF (central reserve police force) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) in the terrorist prone areas,” said Tripura director general of police Pranay Sahaya.

“Many closed-circuit TV cameras have been set up and intelligence networks activated. Police pickets, mobile and foot patrolling would be conducted during the two-day festival and fair,” the police chief told newsmen.