Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed that over 70 lakh pilgrims visited the Gangasagar Mela this year, indicating that the unprecedented footfall is a success story of her government in organising one of the biggest religious events of world for which the Centre did not offer any financial assistance.
Speaking at a public meeting in Sagardighi of Murshidabad on Monday, Mamata said: “Over 70 lakh people have come to Bengal to be part of the Mela. Remember, the central government doesn’t give a paisa for the Gangasagar Mela. All arrangements for the Mela have been borne by the state government. We are organising the Mela in the best manner.”
Mamata on several occasions accused the Centre of being biased against offering financial aid to the Bengal government for Gangasagar Mela despite incurring a huge expense for Kumbh Mela in BJPruled Uttar Pradesh.
“We don’t want your alms; we want our due share,” she said on Monday.
Corroborating the claim of huge footfall that could give Kumbh Mela a run for its money, officials of the state administration involved in organising the mela have termed it as the success of a well-conceived crowd management plan inspired by Mamata and the GPS-enabled Pilgrim Transport Management System (PTMS) introduced this time.
“The figure that the CM has put is the gross footfall beginning from January 1. The number of footfalls only between January 13 and 15 has been counted to be around 50 lakh,” an official said.
Gangasagar Mela, the religious congregation said to be the world’s second-largest after Kumbh, is held every year during Makar Sankranti at the confluence of the river Ganga and Bay of Bengal.
Lakhs of Hindu pilgrims reach Sagar Island from across the country and outside for a holy dip at the confluence.
An official of the South 24-Parganas district administration termed Mamata’s allegations genuine considering the footfall of pilgrims.
“The huge turnout itself is a deserving eligibility for financial assistance for Gangasagar, which the chief minister tried to put forth,” the official said, adding the crowd managing system has given nearly the exact figures of the footfall from January 1.
“The Mela was formally inaugurated by Mamata Banerjee on January 4, but the pilgrims began to pour in from January 1,” the official added.
This year, 230 buses, 80 ambulances, 70 vessels and 80 launches fitted with GPS trackers were deployed.
South 24-Parganas district officials said that the PTMS was used to screen every barge, vessel and bus.