After almost a week of religiosity on the southernmost tip of Sagar island in West Bengal, the Ganga Sagar Mela drew to a close on Tuesday. The West Bengal government has described the annual religious gathering as a huge success putting the figure of pilgrims who had descended on the Island about 120 km from Kolkata at a record 1.10 crore.
Throughout the seven-day religious gathering, Ministers of the Trinamool Congress government raised the pitch that the religious congregation be declared a ‘National Mela’. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 11 raising the demand and highlighting the uniqueness and spiritual and religious significance of the mela.
“If the Centre does not accept our demand then from the next year we are going to call it a ‘National Mela’ on our own,” Minister of Power, Sports and Youth Affairs and Housing Arup Biswas said.
The estimated budget of the Ganga Sagar Mela in 2024 was ₹250 crore, about ₹100 crore higher than last year. Political observers feel that ahead of Lok Sabha election, the Trinamool Congress government wanted to make a political statement of promoting “Hindu religiosity” with the Ganga Sagar Mela ahead of consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
Mr. Biswas told mediapersons that most of the pilgrims were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and about 13,000 people were lost at the mela and almost all were reunited with their family. About 876 were arrested for alleged involvement in different crimes, including pickpocketing.
297 fall ill, two dead
Several people fell ill and 297 were admitted to different hospitals. Eight persons were airlifted and at least two persons died. The cleaning of the beaches is posing a challenge for the administration. Seven Ministers participated in the ceremonial cleanliness of the beach. More than 1,000 personnel have been employed by the district authorities to restore the beaches to its pre-mela status.
District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas Sumit Gupta also launched a plastic-free campaign at the mela. While the shopkeepers gave paper bags, non-biodegradable materials were used in large quantities for the construction of tents and makeshift camps around the site. Even the identity cards provided to administration, police personnel and mediapersons were made of plastic.
Erosion in front of Kapil Muni Temple
Other than the challenge of having a sustainable eco-friendly mela, the authorities are also dealing with the challenge of arresting erosion in front of the Kapil Muni Temple. Locals fear that the way the sea is advancing, the temple may be submerged in the next few years. Pilgrims are being diverted to other beaches and the beach in front of the temple has become dangerous for pilgrims to take a bath.
While the Ministers expressed their helplessness at combating sea erosion they are taking help of tetrapods — concrete wave-dissipating blocks — to arrest the erosion. The utility of the system will be tested after the next monsoons. The State government had spent about ₹25 crore for dredging the river connecting Sagar Island to the mainland.
