Ganga Sagar mela to commence with strict COVID protocols

The Bengal CM while addressing a meeting held at the state secretariat took stock of the preparations ahead of the Ganga Sagar mela and directed the state health department to set a team of experts to monitor the situation

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has directed the state administration to set up Covid-19 surveillance teams ahead of the Ganga Sagar mela.

Pilgrims take a dip at Sagar Island, (PTI Photo)

Around three million people are expected to attend the mela in January 2023 to take the dip at the confluence of holy river Ganga and Bay of Bengal on the occasion of Makar Sankranti on January 15. This is the second largest congregation of pilgrims in India after the Kumbh Mela.

The Bengal CM while addressing a meeting held at the state secretariat took stock of the preparations ahead of the Ganga Sagar mela and directed the state health department to set a team of experts to monitor the situation.

This comes amid a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases China and a few other countries including Japan, South Korea, Brazil and the US.

Meanwhile, the central government on Tuesday urged all states to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants.

In January 2022 the Calcutta high court allowed the West Bengal government to organize the Ganga Sagar mela while adhering to strict safety protocols. The court had formed a three-member committee with a representative of the state government, leader of the opposition in the legislative assembly and chairman of the state human rights commission to oversee whether Covid-19 protocols were being followed.

“A meeting was held on Wednesday to review the Covid-19 situation in the state. There has been no such spike in Covid-19 cases in India but we have started the surveillance and the process of genome sequencing would continue,” said NS Nigam, state health secretary.

The mela is scheduled to be held from January 8 to 17 next year during Makar Sankranti.

“A 300-bed hospital is being set up particularly for the pilgrims. Health infrastructure is also been geared up in surrounding areas such as Sagar, Namkhana, Lot-8 and Chemaguri. Facilities with ICU have also been set up,” the chief minister informed.

Moreover, one air-ambulance, four water-ambulances and 100 ambulances would be kept on stand-by to shift critically ill patients through green corridors, she said.

The state government since 2021 has been making arrangements for e-snan (virtual bathing) and online darshan of Ganga Sagar mela for those who can’t visit.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has said it will mobilise at least six of its diving teams from Vishakhapatnam at the time of the mela. The Indian Coast Guard will sanitize around 100 km between Sagar Island, where the pilgrims, up to Indo-Bangladesh border during the 12-day mela.

The chief minister also warned that some people may engage in subversive activities to trigger communal tension in the mela.

“There should be monitoring to see whether someone is trying to sneak in with firearms. Some people may hatch plans to trigger communal tension. We need to foil theier plans. People from across the country would be coming. We need to protect them. Teams of central and state agencies need to coordinate,” Banerjee said.