Over 1 crore pilgrims visit Gangasagar Mela; lakhs take holy dip on Makar Sankranti

Kolkata: Lakhs of pilgrims from across the country took a holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on Makar Sankranti early Monday.

“The gathering this year exceeded one crore, with lakhs of devotees taking a dip in the sacred waters. Additionally, these pilgrims also offered prayers at the Kapil Muni Temple,” said Aroop Biswas, the state power and sports minister. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee extended their wishes on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

Describing the Gangasagar Mela as one of the world’s largest religious congregations, Biswas urged the Union government to declare it as a “national fair”. Last week, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the same request.

For the safety and security of pilgrims, more than 14,000 police personnel, 2400 civic defence volunteers, quick response team, dip driver, naval driver, NDRF and Coast Guard were deployed.Pilgrims were transported to Sagar Island through 36 vessels, 100 launches, and six barges operating across 22 jetties. However, ferry services to Sagar Island faced disruptions for approximately six hours on Monday due to dense fog, according to a police officer.

“Ferry services experienced an interruption from 3.30 am to 9:40 am because of heavy fog,” explained a Sunderbans Police District officer.

The Puja at Kapil Muni temple was live-streamed through 19 giant screens, and eight LED vans to ensure that pilgrims do not face difficulties. As per reports from the district administration, three pilgrims died on their way to Sagar Island. Mohan Lal Prajapat (59) of Rajasthan died on January 12, Chandrapal (51) of Delhi died on January 13, and Om Prakash (68) of Sirsa, Haryana died on January 14.

To date, eight sick persons have been airlifted from Sagar Islands. Seven of them are admitted at MR Bangur Hospital while one is at SSKM Hospital. A sexagenarian, Ramsebak, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, was airlifted due to abdominal pain on Monday. Presently, 236 pilgrims are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Sagar and 2683 were released after first aid. Forty-two persons were sent to different hospitals in Kolkata for treatment.

The strong surveillance mechanism adopted by the district administration proved to be effective with 12817 out of 12873 pilgrims who got estranged from their family members amidst huge gatherings at Gangasagar Mela were reunited with their families.

The total number of pick-pocketing incidents was 341. In 322 cases, the lost belongings were returned to the owner. About 752 persons were arrested for criminal activities by the police.