KOLKATA: Over 51 lakh pilgrims took a holy dip at Gangasagar Mela from January 10, and more than 1 crore saw the live streaming of the fair through e-darshan on various social media handles.
The time for taking a holy dip at Sagar ended at 6.53 pm on Sunday and the majority of the pilgrims coming from different parts of the country will start returning to their respective residences across the country from Monday.
At least 39 lakh people had taken a holy dip till Saturday. So over 12 lakh took the dip on Sunday on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti.
Nearly 8,000 people availed of the facilities of the e-snan through which packages of bathing facilities have been sent to pilgrims who have not been able to attend the fair physically.
At the road stretching from Outram Ghat — the place for the transit camp of the pilgrims to the Sagar Islands, 21 giant screens live-streamed the Puja at Kapi Muni temple.
Till date, about 125 people have been admitted to different hospitals in and around Sagar Islands for illness. About 25 pilgrims have been transported for better healthcare facilities in government hospitals in Kolkata. 7 persons falling sick have been sent to Kolkata by air ambulances while another 16 have been sent through water ambulances.
Another 7 people have been airlifted on an emergency basis and sent to MR Bangur Hospital in Kolkata. Two persons who were airlifted on Sunday are Brijpal Shukla and Madhu Goswami who have come from Uttar Pradesh.
5 pilgrims, including two from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, died of a heart attack on Sunday.
For the first time, this year pilgrims on their arrival to the shores of Sagar Islands were given personalised certificates, bearing their photo and a message from the district administration. This initiative named ‘Bandhan’ has catered to over 11 lakh pilgrims and has been widely appreciated.