Climate-impacted Sagar island witnesses 10 million pilgrims take holy baths in Ganga Sagar

Since last week, an estimated 10 million people have descended on Sagar island, about 100 km south of Kolkata, to take holy dips at Ganga Sagar at the confluence of the Ganga (Hooghly) and Bay of Bengal and pay pilgrimage to the Kapil Muni ashram. The traffic is more than double of Kolkata’s population.

Ganga Sagar is located at the southern tip of the approximately 30-kilometre-long Sagar island, which is one of the most climatically vulnerable areas in the country. It is impacted by both regular high-intensity cyclones and a high degree of erosion caused by the country's highest sea level rise.

Incidentally, the direct approach to the sea from the Kapil Muni temple — the pivotal pilgrim point of the fair — has been severely impacted by cyclones like Amphan and Yaas. The bathing ghats have been moved. “We have stopped bathing in that impacted region and opened up bathing ghats elsewhere,” said an official.

Read more: COVID-19: Drizzle deters section of pilgrims but violations galore at Ganga Sagar Mela

State power minister Arup Biswas confirmed the number of visitors to the island around 4 pm on January 15. “Till 3 pm today, we had about 10 million pilgrims in Gangasagar, while a few more hundreds of thousands are set to come,” he said.

By Sunday noon, 6.5 million had taken a dip into the sea — crossing the earlier record of 5.1 million devotees from 2023. The numbers rose further as more devotees arrived around the auspicious Makar Sankranti, which started at midnight on January 14, 2024 and wound up on noon January 15, 2024. 

The fair is the second-biggest agglomerate for Hindus after Kumbh mela. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee , while inaugurating the fair on January 8, 2024, demanded that the central government declare it a national fair and support it financially. 

“We spend a few hundred crores and do not receive any support from the Union government,” pointed out a senior minister from West Bengal.

Banerjee has also formally made the demand in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “…considering the uniqueness, significance, magnitude and spiritual depth associated with the Ganga Sagar mela, I would earnestly appeal to you to kindly consider to declare Ganga Sagar mela a national fair,” the letter said. 

Senior ministers, stationed in Ganga Sagar to oversee the arrangements, also echoed the same demand.

“If we get national fair status — and the much-needed financial support —  then it will also be possible to work to mitigate the long-term climatic threats to Sagar island and the iconic fair. Do not forget that as per several documents, the temple itself had to be inward shifted a few times already as the sea has been gradually pushing in,” said a senior state government official.

Many pilgrims left for Ayodhya next

An unusually large number of people, at least 4.5 million, visited Ganga Sagar this year, even before the Makar Sankranti’s auspicious timing began. This was likely fuelled by many people’s desire to be present during the inauguration of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024, Ganga Sagar veterans believed. The Ram Mandir inauguration is expected to attract millions of visitors.

“Many pilgrims said they wanted to go to Ayodhya after the fair, which likely multiplied the number of visitors to Gangasagar,” said Sajahan Siraz, a local journalist and a Ganga Sagar mela veteran.

“More interestingly, pilgrims, especially those from outside Bengal, appeared to be spending less time at Ganga Sagar this year. They arrived, took a dip, offered pujas at Kapil Muni’s ashram and then left,” said local resident Animesh Haldar.

“I do not know the exact number as of now, but it’s a sea of people. Kudos to the local administration for managing the fair despite the flow of the record number of people,” Bengal’s agricultural minister Sovandeb Chatterjee told this reporter from Sagar.

Waste management a priority

“Sagar is already impacted by climate change and we are trying everything to ensure that there is minimum environmental footprint on the area, particularly of waste generation, despite millions coming here during Ganga Sagar mela,” Bankim Hazra, state’s minister of Sundarbans Affairs and the region’s member of legislative assembly, told this reporter.

Read more: Simply Put: En route to Ganga Sagar Mela

Hazra and district magistrate Sumit Gupta launched the “Green and Clean Ganga Sagar Mela” programme and vouched to make the fair premises as free of plastic as possible. “All the government departments, along with non-governmental organisations and volunteers, are working in tandem to keep the mela clean, particularly from plastic,” said an official from the Sagar block development office.

About 1,132 tonnes of biodegradable, non-biodegradable and medical waste were collected from the fair between January 8 and 14.

Biswas claimed about 1.6 million jute bags were distributed through 5,000 workers and 4,000 dustbins were placed around the island. A floating structure was also set up over the coastal zone for a kilometre to collect waste so it does not end up in the sea.

“About 10,000 volunteers are working around the clock to keep the coast clean,” added a senior government official.

“We have collected 71.85 tonnes of waste so far, including around 14.31 tonnes of plastic. For the first time, the biodegradable waste has been turned into manure right here, called ‘Mrittika Mitra’ (friend of soil), which we plan to use on Sagar island itself,” said Kanai Kumar Roy, Sagar’s block development officer, on January 14, noon.

The government sources claimed that nearly 10,000 permanent and temporary toilets were set up to cater to the needs of millions. 

“The arrangement this year, particularly that of waste management, is quite good. So far, there is nothing much to complain about,” said Gangesh Mandal, a local who works with a nonprofit.

The official sources further told this reporter that elaborate infrastructure arrangements including 34 watch towers, 1,150 closed-circuit televisions (CCTV), 22 drones and satellite phones were pressed into service to ensure seamless observance of the fair.

“Moreover, 2,500 additional buses, 38 vessels, six barges, 110 launches and 548 drop gates were being used to ferry the pilgrims properly. In addition, 14,000 police personnel and 2,400 civil defence workers have been used. We have also made arrangements for drinking water, both through the distribution of adequate water pouches and 13 mobile units,” said a senior official.

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