Bengal Govt makes elaborate arrangement for smooth movement of pilgrims during Gangasagar Mela

Kolkata, Jan 12 (Representative) The West Bengal government has made elaborate arrangements for smooth transportation for pilgrims going to the Gangasagar Mela in farthest South 24 Parganas district. Official source said the state transport department will run 2,500 buses for the pilgrims. Over 4,600 buses are plied for the mela which includes both private and government buses. A single ticketing system has been introduced so that pilgrims do not have to buy a ticket on their way back. The pilgrims will be able to buy tickets from Babughat and Howrah Railway Station. From these two points, they will be taken to Lot-8, from there to Kachuberia. From Babughat, the ticket will cost Rs 145 and from Howrah Station it will be Rs 140. The additional bus services started from January 11.In addition to it, a pre-paid taxi booth outside Outram Ghat in the city has been set up for the convenience of pilgrims, official sources said on Friday. The booth will be operative from Saturday with the help of a private app cab company.

Apart from this, 32 vessels, 61 launches and six barges are being plied for the Mela. The vesselswill be available from Namkhana. The movement of vessels, ferries and barges will be through 21 jetties that have been set up to facilitate the smooth passage of the pilgrims to Sagar Island and back. To cater to the surge in passenger traffic, Sealdah Division of Eastern Railway will be running over12 special trains to and from Namkhana and Kakdwip for Sagar Island during the Mela period. Frequency of existing trains on the Sealdah-Namkhana and Kakdwip route will also be increased to ensure smooth and convenient travel for the devotees, who have already started arriving in hundreds and thousands. Sources said in a bid to ease the trip for the pilgrims visiting temples in and around Kolkata, West Bengal Transport Corporation will run a special route catering to Bhukailash Shiva temple, Kalighat temple and Dakshineswar temple from Babughat and Howrah upto January 16.