Kolkata, Oct. 29 -- The area of the Gangasagar Mela is set to expand further, with an additional six lakh square feet being added to the fairgrounds. The Suvendu Adhikari government has begun large-scale preparations, and the state anticipates a record turnout of pilgrims this time.
Sources in Nabanna said that the fairgrounds will cover 18 lakh square feet this time, an increase of around six lakh square feet compared with last year. Until now, the fair was organised across approximately 12 lakh square feet. It was learnt that additional bus terminals, helipads and accommodation facilities are also being developed to improve pilgrims' transportation and overnight stay arrangements.
The area expansion is expected to make crowd management easier. The state government is hopeful that the Centre will grant national fair status to Ganga Sagar Mela. Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had earlier appealed to Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to bring Gangasagar under the railway and road connectivity network.
According to sources, efforts are now underway at the highest levels of the administration to secure national recognition for the fair at the earliest. "Several rounds of discussions have been held with the Central government. We are hopeful that the fair will receive this recognition within the current year," state PWD minister Ajay Poddar said.
Meanwhile, the state government has made considerable progress in constructing a bridge over the Muriganga River. The state administration is making every effort to transform the Gangasagar Mela into one of the country's leading religious gatherings.
BJP national president and Rajya Sabha MP Nitin Nabin visited Ganga Sagar in September this year and assured that the Centre would soon grant national fair status to the Gangasagar Mela. There has been a long-standing demand from the previous Mamata Banerjee government to declare Ganga Sagar Mela a national fair. The previous Trinamool Congress government had appealed to the Centre to officially declare it a national fair and provide institutional and financial assistance.
After coming to power, the state's BJP government wrote to the Centre seeking a national fair tag for the Gangasagar Mela and financial assistance from the BJP-led NDA government for Gangasagar's overall development. The Mela attracts several million pilgrims, saints and visitors from every part of the country and abroad, representing a unique confluence of India's spiritual traditions, living cultural heritage and centuries-old pilgrimage practices, said an official.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.