Sagar Island, Jan. 14: In a bid to develop pilgrim’s destination Sagar Island into a tourist spot, the South 24-Parganas zilla parishad has proposed to the government a bridge from the mainland to the island.

“We have submitted the proposal to the state government. The bridge across the Muri Ganga will take about Rs 300 crore to build,” said Bimal Mistry, the parishad chief.

“The chief minister has shown interest in the proposal at a recent meeting,” he added.

About 300,000 pilgrims took the holy dip where the Hooghly meets the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of Makar Sankranti at the crack of dawn today.

District officials said the crowd this year was about 200,000 less than last year because of the Kumbh Mela.

Only about 50,000 people come to the island through the rest of the year.

The zilla parishad chief said the bridge would make the pilgrims’ progress easy and also encourage others to come. “We want tourists not only from other parts of India but abroad. We are planning a website from where prospective tourists can download information on travel details,” said Mistry.

Besides temples, tourists can see a lighthouse, several smaller islands and Jambu Dwip, the last island in the Sunderbans.