Guwahati (Assam): Soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cleaned up the famous Kamakhya temple in Guwahati on Sunday. Keeping aside their AK-47s, nearly 125 CRPF
soldiers equipped with brooms and soakers were seen cleaning up the temple premises since
6.30 am in the morning. Some chose to wash away the dirt from the sculptures, some swept the
courtyard whereas others fetched water from the Saubhagya Kund, the temple's pond. CRPF
Deputy Commandant Avdhesh Kumar said the mission was organised with the purpose
of reducing the mental tensions of the soldiers. "Today, we organised this temple
cleaning programme so that our soldiers, apart from their routine work of protecting
the nation, can contribute some of their time for religion," said Kumar. "This
reduces their mental tensions and they become recharged for their duty and restart
their daily routine work," he added. It was a surprising sight for the devotees,
who appreciated the efforts of the CRPF personnel. The Kamakhya temple that is
devoted to Goddess Shakti is situated on the Nilachal Hill. The temple is visited
by thousands of devotees every day making it a herculean task to keep the temple
and its premises clean and tidy.
