Guwahati: It got a little too crowded for comfort at the Ambubachi mela at Kamakhya on Sunday.

The huge footfall of visitors forced the Kamrup (metro) district administration to restrict the entry of devotees to control the gathering.

Sources said until Sunday evening, more than seven lakh people visited the mela, the highest compared to the past two days.

"To control the crowds, the administration restricted the entry of visitors to the temple premises from 1pm. The gates were shut every alternate half an hour. Moreover, from noon, the entry of vehicles was also restricted, as the plying of vehicles became impossible along the road connecting the temple with the main road. The situation continued until evening," public relations officer of the district administration, Hem Chandra Pathak, said.

The administration also restricted entry of devotees in the temple from midnight to 5am, so that the temple can be cleaned properly.

A free car service had been arranged for physically challenged and elderly persons from the main road.

However, all such vehicles were not able to provide service on Sunday.

Many devotees fainted while walking to attend the mela.

"Due to high temperatures, many people fell ill while walking to the temple. We have provided first aid to them. Medical personnel have been working in and around the temple," additional deputy commissioner Palash Pratim Bora who looks after the arrangement of Ambubachi mela told The Telegraph.

The city recorded a maximum temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Superintendent of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital Ramen Talukdar said, "Our team has been working at the mela site. But no serious case has been reported yet in our hospital."

On Sunday, the district administration had issued directions to close all bar and liquor shops in Bharalumukh, Pandu, Maligaon and Adabari areas of the city around 8pm instead of 10pm on June 24 and June 25 on account of Ambubachi. "The direction has been issued as a precautionary measure," a source said.

The administration had already declared the temple premises as a no-tobacco zone during the mela days.

"Some tantrik may consume tobacco product as a habit. But we request them not to share it with other visitors," an official of Kamakhya temple management committee Bhupesh Sarma said.

He said controlling the huge gathering of devotees had become a challenge for them.