In Bengal’s Gangasagar Mela, COVID norms tossed aside; lakhs of devotees take holy dip in Ganga

In the last 24 hours, West Bengal logged 22,645 coronavirus cases. However, despite a raging pandemic and warnings from doctors and epidemiologists, the Mamata Banerjee-led government did little to stop the Gangasagar Mela on Makar Sankranti, January 14.

Around 5,30,000 devotees took a dip in the Ganges on Friday, a senior district official told News9. “We have found one positive patient in (Sagar) island and before coming to the island, during the screening process, we traced more than 43 positive cases. We have also sent 171 people to safe homes to quarantine,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

Several doctors in Bengal have predicted that the number of COVID-19 cases will skyrocket in the state due to the annual religious fair.

This year, Bengal witnessed a semi-virtual Mela as the state government has arranged for E-snan and E-puja. The Calcutta High Court had formed a two-member committee to oversee the preparedness and execution of COVID protocols on the ground. However, pandemic norms were openly flouted.

Officials claim that despite several requests, devotees were unwilling to wear masks. With no provision to penalise offenders, the officials could do nothing. 

History of Gangasagar Mela

Gangasagar Mela is the second-largest gathering of pilgrims in India. Millions gather at Sagar Island, around 130 km south of Kolkata, on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The devotees take a sacred dip in the Ganges followed by a puja at the Kapil Muni temple, a holy place for the Hindus.

Virtual Bath and Puja

This year, the West Bengal government has arranged for several digital platforms to allow devotees to participate in a virtual darshan (through drone images) and e-snan (with pre-ordered bottles of Gangajal).

According to officials, around one lakh people had registered for the virtual pooja initiative at the Kapil Muni temple. The district officials have also sent holy water from the River Ganges to 23 districts of the state.

The government has also put up around 250 LED TVs at the Mela ground and along the banks of river Ganga to telecast the proceedings live.

However, more than 2.78 crore visitors were physically present during the holy dip, around three times higher than last year.

How COVID Rules Were Flouted

The state government has appointed a large amount of manpower on the ground to manage the Gangasagar Mela – district officials, senior health officials and senior police officers were present.

“Until the 14th of January, we have distributed more than 10 lakh masks and conducted around 97,000 antigen tests. We have also conducted more than 10,000 RTPCR tests,” said a senior district official. 

But the situation went out of control on Friday morning. Pilgrims broke all barricades and jumped into the water. The police failed to control the crowd.

“We have tried our best but we have limitations to control such a massive crowd,” the district official said.

“COVID is everywhere. I am here to take the holy dip with my family and we will not succumb to any restrictions,” Paras Mondal, a devotee from Bankura, said during his transit to the Mela ground from Kolkata. “In our village, nobody is getting tested and there is no proper health facility. This government is putting all the restrictions only on the devotees.”

Despite the official claim that a two-dose vaccination certificate or an RTPCR negative report is mandatory, many “sadhus” from the transit camp in Kolkata said they were allowed entry without them.

A Naga Sadhu from Uttarakhand said, “I come here every year. This time also I have brought more than 30 disciples with me. Some officials asked me whether we have taken any vaccines or not. I said that we come from remote mountain tops where there is no COVID, so there is no question of testing or vaccination. They allowed us.”

Police officers on the ground and senior officials refused to comment on the matter. However, the High Court-appointed panel observed that COVID rules were not being followed.

The violation of COVID rules was seen in Kolkata itself, where the state government has built the transit camp. Though there were provisions for sanitising hands, most people were too afraid to go through sanitisation tunnels. Thick crowds and long queues were witnessed in front of the ticket distribution centres, food stalls and other places. Toilets, too, were dirty with a shortage of water. Civic volunteers on the ground said Sadhus refused to wear masks.

Tarak Baba, a sadhu from Tarapith said, “I will not allow police or any official to enter my camp. There is nothing called COVID-19 and I will not wear a mask.”

 However, not everyone refused to cooperate. 

Dhara Nath Singh, a resident of Munger, said, “I along with my two daughters, one son and wife have come here from Bihar. We are carrying vaccination certificates for both doses and are wearing masks all the times.”

Why Did Mamata Banerjee Ignore Health Warnings?

Several doctors, associations and even the Bharat Sevashram Sangh of Bengal had warned the state government against the Gangasagar Mela. But they were ignored.

Since 2011, Banerjee has put in a lot of effort to transform the Gangasagar Mela into Kumbh of the east. The TMC government has developed infrastructure by creating new roads and bridges around Sagar Island, slashed the pilgrim tax in August 2019, and announced an insurance of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of devotees.

“She has brought up the Gangasagar Mela in the recently held Bengal assembly election. She blamed the Modi government for not extending any support, while they do support the Kumbh Mela,” a journalist said. 

According to political observers, Banerjee is seeking to shed her pro-Muslim, anti-Hindu image. The Gangasagar Mela is a key event that allows the chief minister to show that she is serious about the cause of the Hindus. 

(Author is an independent journalist based in Kolkata and a former policy research fellow at Delhi Assembly Research Center. He tweets as @sayantan_gh.)