King of Bhutan begins India visit, prays at Kamakhya temple

RAJESH SHARMA, EOI, JAIGAON, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 : King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal on Friday began his eight day India visit. The trip comes amid renewed push by Bhutan and China for an early settlement of their lingering boundary dispute. 

His visit began with a three-day stay in Assam. He arrived in Guwahati during the day and visited the Kamakhya Temple. 

The 43-year-old King of Bhutan was received at the Lokpriya Gopinath International Airport here and was received by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his cabinet colleagues. 

The Chief Minister welcomed the King with the traditional Assamese 'Gamosa'. 

The royal visitor greeted the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues with folded hands. From the airport, the king went to the Kamakhya Temple where he was received by priests. The King prayed at the 'garbhagriha' (sanctum sanctorum) and did 'parikrama' (circumambulation) of the temple, besides lighting earthen lamps in obeisance to the Goddess..

The King assured the temple priests that he would visit the place of worship again with his Kataria. The king and his entourage will leave for the Kaziranga National Park on Saturday. There he would take a safari. 

The King will leave for New Delhi on Sunday from Jorhat. There he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. 

“Under the guidance of our Prime Minister, we look forward to the strengthening of the special relationship between our two countries,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on 'X', formerly Twitter. 

As a gesture of goodwill, the state cabinet had on Wednesday approved the reservation of three MBBS seats for the Royal Government of Bhutan -- two seats in the Nalbari Medical College Hospital and one in the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital.