West Bengal: On Makar Sankranti 2018, Ganga Sagar Mela witnesses record crowds

The West Bengal government on Saturday announced that the number of people visiting Ganga Sagar islands would beat all previous records.

The government has claimed that 18-20 lakh people have so far visited the island and the number is likely to increase on occasion of Makar Sankranti, the government claimed.

Last year around 15 lakh pilgrims had visited the mela. This year, already we have crossed that mark and nearly 20,00,000 people are here, the government announced, according to an Indian Express report.

Some people even shared images of their visit to the spot.

"Sab tirath bar bar, Gangasagar ekbar"
"Visit all holy places nos of times bt visit once Gangasagar is worth a life-time"
A sacred dip at d confluence of #Ganges n #BayOfBengal . #GangaSagarMela #KapilMuniAshram#SagarIsland #BengalTourism #IncredibleIndia #MakarSankranti pic.twitter.com/wpeuNzLrxB

— Priyadarshini Upala (@Priya_upala) January 14, 2018

#MakarSankranti celebrations at #GangaSagar pic.twitter.com/TfuXRxcA1a

— Arpita (@arpita_dg) January 14, 2018

On Saturday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed everyone to Ganga Sagar Mela for the festivities.

pic.twitter.com/2oSIX0dXOO

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 13, 2018

Earlier, the government along with the state disaster management department and the telecommunications department of the West Bengal police, state inter-agency group and national institute of amateur radio started a website – ‘myham.in’ – has been put up, which, authorities claim will help in getting lost persons back to their families.

A missing complaint can be put up online with the missing persons’ name, address and photograph, with the help of this website. The complainant will get a docket number against each such complaint. Police and members of ‘ham radio’ will look for the missing person and complainant would be able to track the progress of their complaint with the help of the docket number.

About 50 members of Ham Radio Club have been working at Ganga Sagar Mela trying to help missing persons. Two temporary ham radio stations have also been put up with the help of which along with the website, people can be updated about missing persons and search operations.

In particular cases, voice messages of the lost persons can also be uploaded on the website. This is because at times, officials are unable to comprehend the language of the lost. If the person’s own voice is heard, his/her family members are likely to understand better.

The government, meanwhile, has decided to double the power supply to Sagar Island. A senior official at the power department said power supply to the Sagar Island has been increased from 8.9 million units (MU) to 16 MU per day. “This has been decided keeping in mind the interests of millions of people visiting the Sagar Island. We will be supplying 16 MU every day for the next few days,” the official said.

Six power generators have also been set up at the venue to address any emergency situation. “At least 10 centres have been set up at the mela ground… Of the 300 power department officials assigned on duty at the fair, 50 will be stationed at these centres… The electrical apparatuses, including the high and low-tension wires, have been repaired,” said the official.