Sagar Island:

Asserting that over one crore pilgrims visit Gangasagar Mela each year, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday demanded that the Centre declare the religious congregation as a national fair.

She also accused the central government of not keeping its promise of building a bridge over a river connecting Sagar Island with the mainland.

“We have done everything for Gangasagar. The central government provides a fund worth several thousands of crores of rupees for the Kumbh Mela. Over a crore of people come to Gangasagar Mela each year. I have been repeatedly telling them to declare this as a national mela, but the request falls on deaf ears,” Ms Banerjee said.

She said that people can go to Kumbh Mela through several routes, but reaching Sagar Island for the Gangasagar Mela is a strenuous job.

Ms Banerjee alleged that the central government failed to keep up its promise to build a bridge to help pilgrims reach Sagar Island easily.

“We have been trying to connect this place with a bridge. I have once spoken to the central government. One minister had promised to build a bridge. I waited for three to four years and they did nothing.

“I have started believing that they (Centre) will never give us the funds. So what we will have to do is construct the bridge despite the financial crisis. We have already conducted a survey and tender floated,” she added.

It will take three to four years to complete the structure and the expense will be around Rs 1,500 crore, Ms Banerjee said.

“It will be a tough job. A hasty job may lead to the collapse of the bridge,” she said.

The chief minister said that her government has revamped infrastructure for Gangasagar Mela and built a helipad.

Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee requested a senior priest of the Kapil Muni Ashram to use the funds they receive to construct a concrete structure to stop the sea from advancing.

“The sea is approaching and from time to time it comes closer to the Kapil Muni temple. You get several funds for the ashram and you send them to UP. I will not interfere with that. But if you take some part from that fund and cover the surrounding area with concrete, then it could be a permanent solution,” she said.

The beach in front of Kapil Muni Temple has been witnessing erosion following a rise in the sea level.

“We do it as much as we can. We do not take any money from you. We spent a lot to conduct dredging, to build jetties, to set up hospitals, and arrange for transportation,” she said.

Banerjee said that she has directed Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to chalk out a plan to create separate sub-divisions for Gosaba and Patharpratima and another for Sandeshkhali and Hingalganj assembly constituencies.

“These are far-off places surrounded by water all around. These will definitely help the locals in getting their government jobs done with ease,” she said. PTI SCH NN

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

With the Maha Kumbh festival less than two weeks away, electricity infrastructure worth Rs 400 crore has been put in place to ensure 24-hour power supply for over 40 crore devotees.

To this end, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has constructed 182 km of high tension lines and 1,405 km of low tension lines.

The Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government will also illuminate the fair grounds with over 40,000 rechargeable bulbs. Anoop Kumar Sinha, Executive Engineer in charge of the Electricity Department, told ANI that the state government plans to install these rechargeable bulbs at key points. “In addition to standard LED bulbs, rechargeable bulbs will be installed at key points, including the 4.5 lakh electrical connections for camps,” he said.

Sinha informed that the funding for these rechargeable bulbs with an approximate cost of Rs 2.7 crores, will be sourced from the ongoing projects of the Electricity Department for Mahakumbh.

The Kumbh will be held in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for 45 days, from January 13 to February 26. In preparation for the festival, state authorities renovated 92 roads, constructed 30 bridges and installed 800 multi-lingual signages. For the first time, underwater drones capable of diving up to 100 meters will provide round-the-clock surveillance at the river confluence or Triveni Sangam area, while drones will also monitor the aerial situation.

2,700 CCTV cameras with Artificial Intelligence capabilities will deployed for real-time monitoring, apart from facial recognition technology at entry points of Mahakumbh Nagar.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, often regarded as the largest spiritual gathering in the world, sees pilgrims take a cleansing bath that is believed to purify the soul. Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik are now considered sacred, and the Kumbh Mela is held at each location in a rotating cycle every few years.