Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a preparatory meeting for Gangasagar Mela 2024 at Nabanna Sabhaghar on December 27.
As many as 15 Cabinet ministers and 18 secretaries of different departments who are involved in some way or the other for the smooth conduct of the Fair held at Sagar Islands will be attending the Chief Minister’s meeting.
The different NGOs associated with the fair have also been invited to attend the Chief Minister’s meeting.
The state Public Health and Engineering (PHE) department is the nodal department for organising the fair. However, many other departments like the Panchayats and Rural Development, Irrigation and Waterways, Transport, Sunderban Affairs and Power department, to name a few, join hands with the PHE department for smooth conduct of the fair that attracts lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country.
Sabhadhipati of South 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad has also been asked to attend the meeting so that the rural bodies can work in tandem with the government departments and the district administration to successfully organise the fair.
The Irrigation and Waterways department has started dredging the Muriganga River and hopes to complete it by the end of December. The fair will be held from January 12 to 15 at the Sagar Islands.
Banerjee, every year pays a visit to the Sagar Islands before the fair and takes stock of the preparations on her own. She is expected to do so this time also and may announce the date of her visit from the meeting.
Meanwhile, preparations for the Gangasagar Mela have already started in full swing with several meetings held at the district level.
The South 24-Parganas district administration will import specialised anti-fog light from Australia to ensure seamless transportation of pilgrims during the Gangasagar Mela which faced a major challenge last year with visibility getting blurred due to dense fog.
The district administration will also take assistance from ISRO for monitoring the movement of the vessels ferrying pilgrims to and from the Sagar Islands.
At least 5 special types of anti-fog lights to ensure that vessel service does not get stalled due to dense fog to be set up. These lights are at strategic locations in the navigation route of Muriganga River to counter this situation.
The three large towers of West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd will have adequate anti-fog lights. The visibility of the towers helps in navigation.
The district administration is hopeful of having vessel service operational up to 20 hours during the Mela.