West Bengal government demands national status for Ganga Sagar Mela

As groups of pilgrims start arriving at Sagar Island for a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal, the West Bengal government is leaving no stone unturned to describe the gathering as the biggest religious event in the country.

As groups of pilgrims start arriving at Sagar Island for a holy dip at the confluence of the river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal, the West Bengal government is leaving no stone unturned to describe the gathering as the biggest religious event in the country.

On Saturday, four State government Ministers held a press conference at the mela venue and announced that by noon on Saturday — almost 36 hours before the auspicious timing of the holy bath — about 45 lakh devotees had come to the island. According to the government, almost one crore pilgrims visited Ganga Sagar Mela in 2023.

“The timing of holy dip is from 12.13 in the night of January 14 to 12.13 in the afternoon of January 15... By the afternoon of January 13, about 45 lakh people had arrived at Gangasagar island,” State’s Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Power and Housing Arup Biswas told journalists.

Asked how the State government was calculating these figures, the Minister said that it was based on the capacity of barges and vessels and other modes of transport ferrying passengers. Mr. Biswas said that the mela started on January 8 and will conclude on January 17. The population of Sagar Island, spread over an area of 282.11 sq.km, is about 2.12 lakh as per last census in 2011.

The Minister also said that the estimated budget for the Ganga Sagar Mela for the year 2024 has been pegged at ₹250 crore. In 2023, it had been ₹150 crore. “No government in the country has been able to provide such facilities to pilgrims as we provide in Ganga Sagar. The Centre does not pay a single dime and we demand that without any further delay the mela should be declared a national fair,” Mr. Biswas said.

Sovandeb Chattopadhay, Minister of Agriculture and one of the senior Ministers in the West Bengal government, said that he had visited the Kumbh Mela thrice. “I have not seen such an organised mela and no mela in the country has so much footfall,” he said, referring to Ganga Sagar Mela.

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