A subdued Ambubachi at Kamakhya temple
It was a dull Ambubachi Mela at the historic Kamakhya temple as the temple management marked the annual event without a congregation due to the Covid pandemic. The festival usually draws a large number of devotees. Only, a select group of priests were permitted to perform the rituals during the four-day festival. The Ambubachi without the Mela was unprecedented in the centuries-old temple. Even during the height of Assam Agitation of the 1980s, the temple dedicated to Goddess Kamakhya held the mela.
Cops fail to arrest ‘nationalist’ in Kolkata
A team of Guwahati Police, which went to Kolkata recently to arrest one Garga Chatterjee, returned empty-handed. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had ordered the arrest of Chatterjee, a self-proclaimed ‘nationalist’, for hurting Assamese sentiments by allegedly insulting the first Ahom king Chaolung Sukaphaa. King Sukaphaa had founded the Ahom dynasty and is credited with building “Greater Assam”. Chatterjee had described Sukaphaa as a Chinese invader. The Guwahati police team said it could not locate Chatterjee due to non-cooperation from Kolkata Police. The government has secured an arrest warrant against Chatterjee from a court in Guwahati. Earlier, a case was registered against him in Assam’s Dibrugarh.
14-day lockdown in parts of Guwahati
A 14-day lockdown has been enforced in parts of the city after over 100 cases of COVID-19 were detected without travel history in recent times. The Kamrup (Metro) district authorities exempted emergency and essential services from the lockdown’s purview. They also warned stern action against any violators. District Magistrate Biswajit Pegu said that the disease is already in the community and the step was taken to prevent its further transmission. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has recently said at least 144 Covid cases without any travel history were recorded in the city.
Call for boycott of Chinese products
In the aftermath of the recent clashes along LAC, there is palpable anger against China in Guwahati and the rest of Assam. Some even took to streets to vent their ire shouting slogans against China and praising the Indian soldiers for their gallantry. Meanwhile, a showroom in Guwahati has stopped selling Chinese gadgets and appliances. The showroom, Next Electronics, said it had already returned mobile phones, LED TVs, refrigerators, washing machines that were manufactured in China as a mark of protest.
prasanta mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com