Tension gripped Gangasagar in South 24-Parganas on Wednesday morning after a local BJP leader was shot at by unidentified assailants near Sreedham bus stand under the Gangasagar Coastal police station area.
The journey will begin from Delhi Safdarjung and would cover Varanasi, Kolkata, Gangasagar, Puri, Bhubaneswar, Konark, Chilika and Baidyanath Dham before returning back to Delhi.
At least four persons in various forms of distress were either rescued or assisted by amateur radio (HAM) operators over the last five days at the Gangasagar Mela.
Gangasagar Island continued to witness an overwhelming influx of pilgrims on Thursday, the second day of the holy bath following the main Makar Sankranti Shahi Snan, as the auspicious period extended this year.
Invoking Rabindranath Tagore’s evocative lines from “Bharat Tirtha”, where the poet described India as a sacred land of countless pilgrimages, Gangasagar stands out as one of the most revered confluences of faith.
The department of posts, West Bengal Circle, will be formally issuing a Special Philatelic Cover commemorating the Gangasagar Mela-2026.
Around 45 lakh pilgrims have arrived at Gangasagar in South 24-Parganas since 1 January to take the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal and offer prayers at the Kapil Muni Ashram, state minister for power and housing Aroop Biswas said on Monday.
Rising tides and a recent spate of natural calamities have further damaged a key road near the Kapil Muni Temple in Gangasagar, prompting urgent intervention from local authorities.
Despite the ongoing Mahakumbh in Uttar Pradesh, the Gangasagar Mela on the shores of the Bay of Bengal has once again proven its status as one of India's premier pilgrimage destinations. Bankim Chandra Hazra, minister of Sundarban affairs, highlighted this while participating in a beach clean-up drive on Thursday.
Thousands of people took a holy dip in river Hooghly on the occasion of Makar Sankranti today.
