Kolkata: Nearly 27 lakh devotees will take the holy dip in Gangasagar on Makar Sankranti on the early hours of Tuesday.
The state government has left no stone unturned to ensure that the pilgrims coming in from different states face no hassle while taking the holy dip at the confluence of Bay of Bengal and River Ganga.
Subrata Mukherjee, state's minister for Panchayats and Rural Development is also camping in the area.
Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the state Power minister, is also there to oversee the arrangements made by his department. Chattopadhyay took the holy dip on Monday morning. It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
had visited Sagar Island a few days ago to oversee the preparations. She had visited the Gangasagar camp in Kolkata on Friday and took stock of the arrangements.
Several NGOs are working with the state government to look after the pilgrims who come from other states.
Security arrangements have been beefed up and a large contingent of policemen have been deployed to maintain peace.
Twenty drones and 800 CCTV cameras have also been deployed to keep a tab on the devotees. The Indian Coast Guard has placed hovercraft, high-speed patrol vessels and interceptor boats along the coastline. Two women hovercraft pilots are part of security cover that the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has extended over the Gangasagar Mela site. Hovercrafts are being deployed round the clock throughout the fair. The crafts being amphibious in nature facilitate smooth execution of search and rescue operation and security cover across the river.
In addition, a life saving rapid action team comprising of rubber Gemini boats with divers has been deployed during the mela to thwart any threat of drowning to the devotees. A number of giant LED screens have been placed at different points in the
area through which pilgrims would be updated about the timings and tariffs of trains, buses and ferries as well as tide timings.
The Coast Guard has also maintained electronic surveillance through the Coastal Security Network (CSN) system.