Ahmedabad, Sep 9 : More than 40 lakh devotees gathered at the Goddess Ambaji temple in Gujarat's Banaskantha during a fair organised recently. The large congregation of devotees also won the praise of Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel as he lauded the efficient management of resources and manpower.

The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the successful organisation of Maa Ambaji mela and thanked the devotees, temple trust and administration. He said the Mahamela - a confluence of power, devotion and nature- was successfully concluded with the blessings of Maa Ambaji.

Taking to his social media handle on X, he wrote, 'Like every year, this year also the grand and divine Bhadravi Poonam Mahamela was organised successfully at Maa Ambaji Shaktipeeth. The arrangements made to make the Mahamela a success were worth seeing. More than 13,500 trips were made by the State Transport Corporation using 1,000 buses.'

Notably, more than 5,000 police department personnel were deployed for security arrangements, which included quick response teams, bomb squads, horse-mounted police and watchtowers.

Firefighters were put on standby while surveillance was done through 535 CCTV cameras. More than 3 lakh devotees were provided with small and big health facilities from treatment centres.

The Chief Minister also praised the grit and resolve of sanitation workers for remaining on duty despite heavy showers.

He informed that more than 2 crore devotees from across the country and the world enjoyed the darshan of Maa Amba through the online medium.

A spectacular drone show and light show based on various themes and songs at the temple was enjoyed by lakhs of devotees.

'Extremely commendable work was also done through various service camps, in which about 5.5 lakh devotees took advantage of free prasad,' he said.

He further said, "Organising such a big event successfully is truly commendable. For this, I heartily congratulate all the devotees, Ambaji Mata Devasthan Trust, administration, charitable organisations, and all the people directly and indirectly associated with this arrangement."

/IANS