Cruise service starts between Diamond Harbour & Kachuberia

Kolkata: Ahead of the Gangasagar Mela, cruise service was started between Diamond Harbour and Kachuberia on Thursday.

The initiative has been taken by the Diamond Harbour Municipality in collaboration with a private company. The service will be available between Diamond Harbour ferry ghat and Kachuberia.

Once the passengers avail a cruise service, it will take around 2 hours to reach the destination from any side. The new service will immensely benefit the passengers, believe the municipality officials. It will also prove handy for the local administration ahead of Gangasagar Mela as a huge number of pilgrims can be transported.

Vessels used to face difficulties due to low navigability in the Muriganga River. During low tide, the passengers would have to wait for 5-6 hours.

Meanwhile, ISKCON Gangasagar has taken a lot of initiatives for the pilgrims who will be visiting the Mela. They will distribute 100,000 hot and nutritious meals, consisting of rice, moong dal, seasonal sabji and pickle or halwa, to the pilgrims from January 10 to 16. They will also offer small cups of khichuri to those who are in a hurry or in different night shelters.

“We will keep the food ready 24/7 to serve as per the capacity of the buffer zones set up by the mela administration. We will provide night shelter, medical first-aid, drinking water, warm cloth (blanket), etc. to the pilgrims, naga babas and other sadhus who gather at the Bay of Bengal,” reads a press statement issued by ISKCON.