Tura, June 6: Local residents and priests feel that a lesser-known Kamakhya temple in Meghalaya's Garo hills needs promotion so that devotees of the goddess are able to pay their obeisance at the historic pilgrimage site at Thakuranbari village, along the Assam-Meghalaya border, close to Mancachar town of Assam.

One of the 51 Shakti peeths, the temple is about 45km from Tura in West Garo Hills and falls under South West Garo Hills district. People from all communities visit the temple and seek blessings from goddess Kamakhya.

The temple is as revered as the renowned Kamakhya temple in Guwahati.

Om Prakash Jha, the temple priest, said the navel of goddess Sati fell at this very site.

Jha said last year, a community hall was inaugurated on the temple premises by West Garo Hills deputy commissioner Pravin Bakshi.

The temple was built under Backward Regions Grant Fund. A rest house was built during former Assam chief minister Hiteswar Saikia's tenure and a washroom constructed by the Assam tourism department.

Though the temple is not widely popular like its counterpart in Guwahati, the place has gained fame through word of mouth. Local residents feel that the state governments of Assam and Meghalaya should popularise the temple so that devotees from across India can visit it.

"The tourists face difficulty during their visit to the temple as there are not much infrastructure facilities. If the Assam and Meghalaya governments come together to promote the site, it will boost the income of the local population here apart from promoting tourism," Sujit Bezbaruah, a devotee who frequents the temple, said.

Many visitors feel that if the place is developed it will attract both tourists and devotees.

"I feel that the place should be promoted, so that people can come and visit this important religious site. The infrastructure should be upgraded and maintained properly," said Sunildro Akoijam, a devotee from Manipur who teaches at North Eastern Hill University (Nehu).