Mamata says Centre supports the Kumbh Mela but not the Gangasagar Mela

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at Kapil Muni temple on Ganga Sagar Island. The Chief Minister took a stock of preparedness for the annual Gangasagar Mela.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

Observing that the Gangasagar Mela is no less important than the Kumbh Mela, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (January 6, 2025) said that the government at the Centre supported the Kumbha Mela but did not extend any support to the Gangasagar Mela.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson promised “national mela status” to the Gangasagar Mela in future, whenever her party had a say in the government at the Centre.

Expressing her resentment that the Gangasagar Mela had not been given the national mela status, the Chief Minister, who visited the island to oversee preparedness for the annual pilgrimage, said that she visited every year and made the same demand, but Union government had not paid any heed.

“The Centre gives thousands of crores of rupees for Kumbh Mela. The Centre does not give any money for Gangasagar Mela. They do not even look at Gangasagar. All the arrangements at Gangasagar are made by us,” Ms. Banerjee said. She said the West Bengal government took a lot of effort, including in dredging rivers, to hold the annual pilgrimage at Gangasagar.

Ms. Banerjee urged the priests of the Kapil Muni temple to construct concrete embankments so that rising sea water did not reach the temple. The beach in front of the temple is believed to be the confluence of the river Ganga with the sea, and devotees take a dip in the water on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.

During the day, the CM took stock of the preparations for the upcoming Gangasagar Mela, and visited the Kapil Muni temple and the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.

Bridge to island

The Chief Minister said that about one crore people visited Gangasagar Mela every year, and the island, surrounded by water on all sides, required a bridge for easy access from the mainland.

Sagar island, where the annual pilgrimage of Gangasagar is held on Makar Sankranti, is the biggest island in the Sundarbans archipelago, with a population of over two lakh people. 

“A few years ago, a Union Minister promised to build a bridge connecting Gangasagar. We waited but the bridge was not built,” Ms. Banerjee said. The Chief Minister said the State government is building a bridge over the Muriganga river to connect the Ganga Sagar island.

“The tender has been done. It will cost ₹1,500 crore. The bridge will be built within two to three years. There is no need to hurry so that the structure collapses. The bridge will have to serve future generations,” Ms. Banerjee said.