‘As many as 85L pilgrims take holy dip on Makar Sankranti at Gangasagar’

Kolkata: State Power minister Aroop Biswas said on Tuesday that 85 lakh pilgrims took holy dip at Gangasagar on the occasion of Makar Sankranti till Tuesday afternoon.

The figure is expected to rise further with the holy dip set to continue till 6.58 am on Wednesday. “More pilgrims are coming to Gangasagar to take a holy dip. It is natural that till Wednesday morning more people will take a dip,” said Biswas.

State Transport minister Snehasis Chakraborty, state Public Health Engineering minister Pulak Roy, who are presently at Gangasagar for supervising the management of lakhs of pilgrims, also took holy dip. Biswas offered prayers at Kapil Muni Temple at Sagar.

Swami Paramatmananda, Mahamandaleshwar of the Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara, one of the most revered sects of Dashnami tradition in Varanasi, visited the Kapil Muni Temple at Gangasagar and called for urgent action by Central government to preserve the sacred site. He stressed the need for collaboration between the Central and state governments to combat the threats posed by natural disasters. He appreciated the steps taken by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in protecting the pilgrimage site.

The Panchayati Mahanirvani Akhara plans to hold a meeting in Varanasi post-Kumbh Mela to discuss strategies for Gangasagar’s preservation. “We will consider sending a delegation to meet the Prime Minister and involve Shankaracharyas in our mission. This is not just about religion; it’s about protecting a cultural and historical legacy that spans thousands of years,” said Swami Paramatmananda.

About 13,000 police personnel, including at least 30 senior police officials, are presently deployed at Gangasagar. Bomb squad, sniffer dogs, counter insurgency force are on duty. Two Navy teams, one Coastguard team and five civil defence teams are constantly monitoring the riverine channel from Lot 8 to Kachuberia. Unfortunately, one pilgrim, Ramprasad Giri (54) from Uttar Pradesh died on Tuesday taking the total deaths to five since Sunday.

Ramyash Dubey Pathrahi (76) of Lesliganj in Jharkhand was airlifted on Tuesday and was brought to MR Bangur hospital. Pathrahi, the seventh patient to be airlifted since Sunday, was diagnosed with CVA (cerebrovascular accident).