Thousands flock to Tara Tarini temple in Berhampur

Thousands of devotees from far off places of Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh thronged the Tara Tarini temple, one of the famous Shakti shrines, here located on the bank of the Rushikulya river on the occasion of the Chaitra Mela which began from today.
Braving the scorching sun, thousands climb 999 steps to reach the 17th century temple, located about 709 feet above the sea level to tonsure their babies and offer hairs to the Goddess every Tuesday of the month.
Around 700 police personnel, including 8 platoons of police forces, three additional SP (Ganjam), one DSP, ten inspector rank officers were camping in the temple premises for traffic management and to look into the law and order problem, said SP (Ganjam) Ashish Singh.

A firm from Andhra Pradesh collected the hair from the temple. The company has offered around Rs 2.25 lakh this time to collect all hair from here. Last year, the same company had offered Rs 2.60-lakh, temple sources said.
"The district administration and the temple administration have made elaborate arrangements for the convenience of the visitors," said Pramod Kumar Panda, secretary, Tara Tarini Development Board.