Kolkata: The much anticipated Gangasagar Mela 2020 will be officially inaugurated on January 10 and will continue till January 17. The pilgrims will have a holy dip at Sagar Island during Makar Sakranti between 8.24 am on January 15 and 8.24 am on January 16.
South 24-Parganas district administration has laid stress on the maintenance of cleanliness in the region during the festival. They have taken up a host of new initiatives to protect the area from being littered. An awareness programme will be conducted during the Mela and the local administration, through the use of microphones, would urge the pilgrims not to urinate and defecate in the open. The announcements would be made in various languages.
The local Gram Panchayat has already engaged 500 people including women, who would conduct cleaning work in the area during the Mela.
Meanwhile, for the first time, the district administration has decided to use 28 e-rickshaws to transport garbage from the vats which will be erected at different places. Apart from the driver, there will be two cleaning personnel in each e-rickshaw.
Two temporary wet waste disposal management units will be erected on the Mela ground. The cleaning personnel have already started their works. According to the district administration, the use of plastic materials has been completely banned at Sagar Island.
The administrative officials have also laid enormous stress on the use of small paper-made bags. The local MLA Bankim Hazra has been monitoring the maintenance and cleaning work in the area. He said that all the arrangements have been made to ensure an eco-friendly environment in the region.
Hazra reiterated that Gangasagar Mela has been given a major facelift following the initiatives of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. There will be an arrangement of 3,700 buses for ferrying pilgrims to Gangasagar Mela from different parts of the state. In addition, 550 mini-vehicles will also ply in Sagar Island.
Every bus will have GPS and speed calibrators installed in them. There will be breath-analyzers to check drunken driving as well. The state government has also announced an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh for pilgrims in case of unnatural death. A green corridor will be established for emergency evacuation of the patients, with the help of air ambulance.
There will be water ambulances and helicopters to help pilgrims as well.