West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Thursday that the Gangasagar Fair is bigger than the Kumbh Mela, hence the Central Government should give it the status of a national fair. She said that she has been demanding to make Gangasagar a national fair for a long time. But the Center has not given the status yet. CM said that after his government came to power, the expenses of this fair are borne by the state government.
Mamata Banerjee said that the Central Government provides thousands of crores of rupees for organizing the Kumbh Mela, but the West Bengal Government provides funds for the annual Gangasagar Mela to be held at the Kapil Muni Temple at the confluence of River Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. All provisions have to be made. After inaugurating the fair on the banks of river Ganga (Hooghly) here, Banerjee said that we have been trying unsuccessfully for the last 10 years to get the status of national fair for the Gangasagar fair. He said that this is not less than Kumbh Mela but even bigger than that.
CM said that even if seen in terms of difficulty, Gangasagar Mela is more difficult than Kumbh Mela. Because people can go to Kumbh Mela by bus, train and car, but the road to reach Gangasagar Mela is very difficult. He said that when TMC came to power in 2011, pilgrimage tax was collected. But after our arrival it was closed and the expenses of the fair were borne by the state government. CM said that the government made all kinds of arrangements like bio toilet, accommodation for the pilgrims coming here.
The Chief Minister said that crores of rupees are given for the Kumbh Mela. It is easy to reach there by road, air and rail but it is very difficult to reach Sagar Island, located about 130 km from Kolkata, because pilgrims have to cross the river by boat on the way. Here people have to cross over water. Banerjee said that she had demanded the Central Government to build a bridge to reach Gangasagar but the government did not build it. In such a situation, now the bridge will be built with the money of the state government and will be ready in the next 2-3 years. This will cost approximately Rs 1.5 thousand crores.
Gangasagar fair has started in West Bengal. In which pilgrims from the country and the world are going from Outram Ghat in Kolkata to Gangasagar for the fair. The Chief Minister says that this time, before the holy bath, Ganga Aarti will be held on the sea shore in Gangasagar on three days on 11, 12 and 13 January.
