The Kamakhya Temple of Assam will remain closed until June 30 amid a pandemic

The Kamakhya Temple in the Nilachal Hills of Guwahati will remain closed until June 30.

Guwahati

The famous Kamakhya temple in the Nilachal hills of Guwahati will remain closed until June 30, the temple administration said. However, the center and the Assam government allowed houses of worship to reopen starting June 8 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The temple administration committee said it decided not to open the temple for public worship until June 30 due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in Assam.

Since the temple will remain closed, the annual Ambubachi Mela will not 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, a passage of approximately 20 lakh devotees from India and abroad was seen.

The temple administration committee said rituals will only be performed on days the temple is closed. The administration closed the temple on March 20 after the COVID-19 alert sounded in Assam.

Assam reported 29 new cases of coronavirus on Monday; 92 people recovered from the highly infectious disease in a single day, taking the number of recoveries higher than the infections.

The total number of cases in the state is 1,390.