Rising sea level and erosion of the beach in front of the Kapil Muni temple on the Sagar Island are turning out to be an eyesore for the Ganga Sagar Mela as the West Bengal government is desperately seeking a ‘National Fair’ status to the annual religious congregation.
As thousands of pilgrims are descending on the island located in the southernmost tip of West Bengal for the annual dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, about one km of the beach in front of the temple is covered with mud. The administration has put up warning signs on the beach and diverted pilgrims to other beaches on the island far from the temple for the holy dip.
Hours before the auspicious holy dip for Makar Sankranti was about to start at 00.13 hours on January 15, several Ministers of the West Bengal government expressed their helplessness in maintaining the island. “We cannot fight nature,” Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmick said on Sunday. On Saturday, Minister Arup Biswas had said it was impossible to fight with nature.
