The West Bengal government on Wednesday (January 15, 2025) claimed that over 1.1 crore pilgrims have participated in the Gangasagar mela 2025 describing the annual pilgrimage at the confluence of river Ganga and the Bay of Bengal as the “best mela in the country”. State’s Minister for Power and Youth Affairs lauded the arrangements at the mela and said that the initiatives envisaged by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had paved the way for smooth functioning of the fest.
Last year in 2024, the State government had put a similar count on the number of devotees with the number of pilgrims crossing one crore without attributing sources for the figures. A response to a Right to Information query filed by Biswanath Goswami, however, pointed out that about 4.57 lakh vessel tickets were sold from January 10 to January 16, 2024, during the Gangasagar mela last year. The total fare collection of the State government from the sale of vessel tickets in 2024 was about ₹1.83 crore. Gangasagar mela is held on Sagar island which can only be accessed by vessels and boats.
When asked about the mismatch in the figure of pilgrims, Minister Aroop Biswas said that it is not correct to ascertain the footfall from vessel tickets as the tickets are not bought by everyone. “If someone does not have money, will we not let them travel,” the Minister said.
Mr. Goswami contested the claim and said that if a person is travelling from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan, spending thousands for the travel, he or she will not have ₹40 for vessel fare. “The response of the RTI query clearly proves that the figures of the footfalls at the Gangasagar mela by the West Bengal government are fudged,” the activist said.
The Minister said that a large number of people who participated in the Gangasagar mela were from north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan which makes it a very important pilgrimage in the country. “Six persons have died at the Gangasagar Mela out of which four are residents of Uttar Pradesh,” Mr. Biswas said, emphasising on the national character of the mela. Nine persons have been airlifted after falling ill at the Gangasagar mela.
Asked that the investment proposals worth thousands of crore made at Mahakumbh mela, whereas the West Bengal government is only spending for organising Gangasagar, Mr. Biswas said that the State government does not want to “make income” from the Gangasagar Mela. The Minister claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made arrangements like a mother to take care of the children at the mela.
After the auspicious bath on the occasion at Makar Sankranti, the crowd at the mela has thinned and pilgrims have started retreating from the mela. Shops and other setups were being dismantled at mela on Wednesday (January 15, 2025). The organisers of the mela said that there were 455 incidents of theft and pickpocketing at the mela and in 432 instances the stolen material was returned.
An eco-friendly mela
Even though the State government has claimed that it was an environment friendly mela, piles of garbage were seen at different places in the mela. Mr. Biswas said that about 1,123 metric tons of biodegradable and nonbiodegradable waste was generated at the mela which will be recycled. About 895 persons were arrested for different illegal activities. About 6,632 persons went missing and out of which 6,627 persons were reunited with their families.
While the Minister claimed that jute, paper and biodegradable plastic bags were distributed at the mela, there plastic materials and bags were seen across the mela including at the beaches which are used for bathing for the pilgrims. The air quality at several places in the Gangasagar mela over the past few days fell in a very poor category.
Published - January 15, 2025 09:43 pm IST
