Mamata to reach Sagar today, open several projs, including 4-lane Gangasagar Setu

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to visit Gangasagar on Monday, January 5, to oversee last-minute preparations for the 2026 Gangasagar Mela.

Banerjee will be reaching the Sagar Islands via chopper in the afternoon and will take part in a distribution programme which will be held at the ground adjacent to the helipad.

Banerjee will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate a number of projects associated with the development of Sagar and adjacent areas from the programme.

The major project for which Banerjee will be laying the foundation stone will be that of Gangasagar Setu, a 4-lane bridge being built over the Muriganga River to connect Kakdwip on the mainland to Kachuberia on Sagar Island, significantly improving access for pilgrims and boosting tourism and local economy.

The purpose of the bridge is to provide seamless, all-weather connectivity to the Sagar Islands for pilgrims attending the annual Gangasagar Mela and for the general local population.

“We have already allocated Rs 1700 crore for the Gangasagar Setu. The concrete bridge is expected to be completed in the next two years and then no one will have to travel across the water to reach the Sagar Islands. The tender has matured and Larsen & Toubro has bagged the tender,” Banerjee had said while laying the foundation stone for Durga Angan at New Town recently. Following the distribution programme, Banerjee is expected to pay a visit to Bharat Sevashram Sangha and will also offer her prayers at Kapil Muni temple. She is expected to return on January 6.

Banerjee, who chaired a high-level review meeting at Nabanna on December 15, had issued a clear and stern directive to ministers and officials that no form of “VIP culture” will be tolerated at the Mela.

She stressed that ordinary pilgrims must not be made to wait for hours or face inconvenience due to the movement of red-beacon vehicles or preferential treatment for VIPs. Her message was unequivocal—the Gangasagar Mela belongs to the common people, and ensuring their comfort and safety will be the government’s topmost priority.

“This year, we expect a record turnout of pilgrims during the Gangasagar Mela, with the Kumbh Mela not being held this year. Hence, infrastructural facilities that include arrangements for lodging, drinking water, toilets, waste management etc, are being augmented. The number of sheds and hangars for lodging of the pilgrims is being doubled,” said a senior official of the South 24-Parganas district administration. The district administration is developing facilities for an additional bus stand to facilitate smooth boarding and deboarding of the pilgrims.

The district administration will use thermal imaging and night vision drones at Mela ground and over the Muriganga River for aerial surveillance. Pilgrim Transport Management System (PTMS) will be used for tracking the live location of all buses and ambulances in the island and also all vessels, barges and launches. An alert will be issued if the waterborne transport deviates from its scheduled path. Real-time tracking of pilgrims will be done through 1200 CCTV cameras that has been installed at important locations. Metal and temporary barricading is being done to regulate the crowd. The Mela will be held from January 8 to 17, with the holy dip scheduled from 1.14 pm on January 14 till the same time on January 15th.