Anticipating a huge footfall at Gangasagar Mela this year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday took stock of the state's preparedness for the annual congregation, and said the administration was adopting necessary steps to ensure its success.
Asserting that the "Gangasagar Mela is organised on the same scale as the Kumbh Mela", she urged central government offices, the railways, the Army, the Navy and the NDRF to extend necessary assistance to the state for the event, scheduled to be held from January 8-17.
The CM also cautioned against people who might try to sabotage the mela or create unrest.
"This year, the number of pilgrims at Ganga Sagar Mela is expected to be more (than what it was in the past few years). We are well prepared for it. We also urge the central government offices, the Army, Navy, the Coast guard and disaster management departments to help us in ensuring that the sagar mela gets smoothly conducted," Banerjee said at a meeting held at the state secretariat.
The annual mela on Sagar island, one of the biggest religious events of the country, attracts lakhs of people who take a dip at the confluence of river Ganges and Bay of Bengal on Makar Sankranti and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni temple.
The CM said that the state is taking requisite measures for the safety of all pilgrims.
She asked several senior ministers and top police officers to visit the island and review the arrangements from time to time during the nine-day long fair.
“There’ll be people who might try to play spoilsport... See to it that nobody enters the mela with arms… people may have plans to sabotage the event, spark riots. We must spoil their plans.
"A mega control room will be set up for monitoring all movements during the Ganga Sagar mela. As many as 1,150 CCTVs will be used for surveillance, besides drones," Banerjee added.
