Agartala, Nov 8 (IANS) More than 10 lakh devotees and visitors from across the country are expected to attend the three-day Diwali festival, which will be inaugurated by Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday evening at the historic 525-year-old Mata Tripura Sundari Temple in Gomati district, officials said.
The famous temple, located at Udaipur, around 64 km south of Agartala, is regarded as one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country. It was built in 1501 by Maharaja Dhanya Manikya, who ruled the erstwhile princely state of Tripura from 1490 to 1515.
"Mata Tripura Sundari Temple is one of the major religious tourism destinations in the entire Northeastern region. The government wants to increase the income of traders, generate employment opportunities and facilitate people-to-people relations through religious tourism," CM Saha said, who also holds the Information and Cultural Affairs portfolio.
Local MLA Abhishek Debroy and Gomati District Magistrate Rinku Lather said that all arrangements for the annual festival had been completed, with several initiatives taken to make this year's celebrations more attractive.
"We expect more than 10 lakh devotees and visitors including a record number of women from across the country to converge at the three-day festival. It is one of the biggest Diwali festivals in the entire Northeastern region," Debroy told the media.
To accommodate the additional rush of passengers during the Diwali festival, the Northeast Frontier Railway will operate a special train on Sunday.
An official of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department said that a drone show would be one of the major attractions of the inaugural evening on Sunday.
Besides, beautifully decorated government exhibition stalls, special thematic stalls showcasing Tripura's rich heritage, traditional culture and indigenous cuisine have been set up within the temple complex, she added.
The impressive drone show at the sacred Mata Tripura Sundari Temple premises emerged as one of the major attractions of this year's Diwali celebrations.
The Chief Minister said that the mesmerising display of lights in the night sky, featuring the map of India alongside captivating representations of Tripura's rich culture, traditions and heritage, was truly awe-inspiring.
The official also said that a special sand sculpture depicting the Mata Tripura Sundari Temple atop a tortoise, symbolising the unique religious and cultural identity of the shrine, would be another major attraction of the temple festival. Meanwhile, fulfilling a long-standing public demand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the redeveloped Mata Tripura Sundari Temple and offered prayers at the shrine on September 22, 2025.
A senior Tourism Department official said that under the PRASHAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive) scheme of the Union Tourism Ministry, the 525-year-old Tripura Sundari Temple had been redeveloped at a cost of more than Rs 54 crore.
The Central government provided Rs 34.43 crore, while the Tripura government contributed Rs 17.61 crore towards the project.
The temple, built in 1501 by the erstwhile king Maharaja Dhanya Manikya at Udaipur, is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas in the country.
It is also regarded as the third such prominent shrine in eastern India, after the Kali Temple at Kalighat in Kolkata and the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati.
After 517 years of monarchy, the erstwhile princely state of Tripura merged with the Indian Union on October 15, 1949, following an agreement signed between Kanchan Prabha Devi, the then Regent Maharani, and the Governor-General of India.
