Hundreds of devout Hindus took a dip in frigid temperatures at the major Gomati River in Tripura as part of a religious pilgrimage aimed at washing away earthly sins on the occasion of PoshSankranti in Tirthamukh fair of South Tripura on Monday.
The fair was inaugurated by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb in presence of Tribal Welfare Minister Mewar Kumar Jamatia and other officials.
Speaking on the occasion, Deb said that as there is peace in the State the visitors this time is around double to the previous year.
Accompanied by his wife Niti Deb, the Chief Minister added that the spot is splendid and has huge tourism potential and so the government is developing the area with better connectivity and infrastructure so that a large number of tourist visit the area and which shall not only create employment scopes but also have a positive impact on the local economy.
For one of the largest congregation of people in the region, authorities have put up nearly 10,000 makeshift tents in a sprawling area of five square kilometers on the banks of the Gomati River.
Tribal and non-tribal Hindus took bath on the occasion also known as Makar Sankranti.
Tribal devotees perform Ganga puja and believe that it will fulfill their wishes and keep all evil from their life if they perform the puja in this spot. They sacrifice foul on the occasion.
Tirthamukh, the venue is nearly 140 kilometers southeast of Agartala, the capital of Tripura and the river Gomati starts from here.
The main period of bathing is on the last day of Poush, the ninth month of the Hindu calendar, on which the day and night are of equal hours.
In Tripura people, especially the tribal with hundreds and thousands of other Hindu pilgrims arriving by the bank of Gomoti at Tirthamukh on this auspicious day to take a dip in the holy river, pay respect to the passing souls of their forefathers (tarpan) and celebrate the harvesting crops and give in to relaxing and enjoying the traditional folk songs and dances.
During this one day’s fair visitors from not only other parts of India like Assam and Manipur but also from neighboring Bangladesh come here to worship.