SAGAR ISLAND: State Panchayat and Rural Development minister Subrata Mukherjee, state Fire and Emergency Services minister Sujit Bose and Minority Affairs and Madrasa Education minister Giasuddin Molla took stock of the situation at the ongoing Gangasagar Mela at Sagar Island on Sunday. A fire safety stall guiding the pilgrims was also inaugurated by the ministers. The stall displays all the modern firefighting equipments to protect pilgrims and avoid any untoward incident. "Five lakh pilgrims visited the Gangasagar Mela yesterday. Eight lakh pilgrims are at Gangasagar Mela today. We have safely airlifted two patients to hospital. According to the District Magistrate, they are out of danger," said Mukherjee. He reiterated that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is concerned about the safety and security of pilgrims and she wants more and more pilgrims to come to the Gangasagar Mela. "Apart from bearing all the expense of conducting the Gangasagar Mela, our Chief Minister is also giving insurance of Rs five lakh per head for the pilgrims this year. This apart, the Mamata Banerjee government has also waived off pilgrim tax. Different departments of the state government have worked together to ensure a hassle-free pilgrimage of Gangasagar. She has instructed us that Gangasagar 2020 should be accident-free," pointed out the minister. About six lakh cubic meters of silt have been removed through dredging and almost 16 hours of vessel movement has been done through 21 jetties. The state government had allocated Rs 120 crore for the dredging project. About 15,000 volunteers including civil defence volunteers, NGO volunteers and others have been deployed. 3,700 buses, five barges and 32 vessels have been deployed for hassle-free communication of the pilgrims, while 10,500 toilets have been constructed. Thousands of pilgrims gather at Sagar Island in the month of January to take a dip at the confluence of Hooghly River and the Bay of Bengal and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Ashram.

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