On the sacred occasion of Fourth Tuesday of the famous Chaitra festival around five lakhs devotees thronged Tara Tarini hill shrine from various parts of the state and outside. It may be noted that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of festivity at this hill shrine and this is the biggest fair held here in honour of the twin goddess.
Like the Third Tuesday (Around 7 lakh devotees gathered on that day) there was also heavy rush on the Fourth Tuesday on the hill top temple of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini as coincidentally it was also Mahastami day of Navaratri festivities.
On this Tuesday, the massive gathering broke all records of previous years as it saw a three fold increase in the number of visitors as compared to the last year. There were visitors from far of places like Assam, North eastern States, and Tamilnadu apart from states like Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
The festivities had started at this shrine from Monday evening. Throughout the night there were cultural programmes to entertain the devotees. After some ceremonial works the sanctum of Maa Tara Tarini opened at around 2 a.m in the morning and darshan started after that. As per the report available on that occasion at least 50,000 people offered the hair of newborn babies at the Shrine similar to the practice found at Tirupati Balaji.
It may be noted that last year during the month of Chaitra more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine. So, sensing that the devotees would increase further, the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB) has carried out a lot of development works and made wide arrangements for the smooth darshan of devotees.
Meanwhile, Orissa Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik has also taken steps for the development of this Shrine. As part of the development programme, on the eve of the commencement of Chaitra festivities at the Shrine the CM has inaugurated a multifunctional complex and a lavatory complex on the foot hill of the Shrine and another ultra modern lavatory complex is also coming up on the hill top for the benefit of devotees. Appreciating the developmental projects taken up by the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB); which led to major transformation of this ancient hill shrine Shri Patnaik expressed his satisfaction with the progress made so far which has led to the emergence of this Adi Shakti Peetha as a major centre of religious tourism in Orissa.
Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian, Collectors of many other districts, BMC Commissioner Sh. Veemsen Manseth, Superintendent of Police Berhampur and Ganjam and many other senior state and central government officials, apart from the office bearers of TTDB were present on the Fourth Tuesday.
On the sidelines a meeting was held where the Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda and all office bearers of TTDB participated.
• It was decided that for the benefit of devotees next year steps would be taken to arrange around 5000 tents with all other facilities on temporary basis for the accommodation of atleast 50,000 people.
• More number of buses would ply for the smooth transportation on to the hill top.
• It was also decided that retaining walls would be constructed on both sides of the hill top to protect the area from land sliding.
• And the work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall will be completed in a time bound period.
Principal Secretary Urban Development Government of Orissa Sh. Arun Panda, RDC Southern Division and Chairman of TTDB Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector Shri VK Pandian assured all help from government side to the Development Board.
The Ganjam District administration made elaborate arrangements for the visitors. The volunteers of the TTDB, different NGOs and voluntary organizations, the temple management and local residents extended their helping hand to devotees who came from various parts of the state and other neighbouring states.
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R P Tripathy
Media & Publicity In-Charge
Tara Tarini Development Board
Berhampur
Orissa
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